Undying Resolve
by CrispyBaconbits
Summary: When Jun Kazama was attacked by Ogre, her peaceful life changed dramatically. She had to witness her son go through the betrayal of Heihachi and the return of Kazuya. Now seeing Jin himself start descending into madness, Jun is finished sitting on the sidelines. As a new KOIFT officially starts, Jun finally takes action to make things right. NEXT CHAPTER UP: Jun vs. Heihachi
1. Prologue

**A/N:** _How's it going everyone? I decided to write this story for three reasons. The first is because I love Jun Kazama and used to play her all the time until she was taken out of the series (I can't describe how happy I am she's back in TTT2). The second is because I really wanted to get back into writing on here, and the third reason is because I wanted to give you guys my interpretation of what's been going on in Jun's life since T2. This chapter is just a prologue with a bunch of back story, but once the story actually starts I think what I'll do is make it so that the story follows the format of Tekken's arcade mode, meaning that each chapter is like a "stage". Read and review so it makes me want to keep writing! ;) _

* * *

_Prologue_

The stadium in Japan was packed to the brim. Around the merciless iron arena were hundreds of thousands of screaming fans, all of which were anticipating the coming matches. Most having been to a similar arena during the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, these people knew that this was no ordinary fighting tournament. Anything could happen at anytime, which added to their growing excitement.

This particular tournament was especially exciting because it seemed that everyone involved in the tournament's history appeared to be participating. Some of the contestants face's had not been seen in an extremely long time. Some, like the elusive former female Manji clan member Kunimitsu, appeared to have slipped into the shadows after the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2. Others, like the hot-blooded American Paul Phoenix, were well known fan favourites.

Some were even thought to have died long ago.

She stood silently outside the arena, watching as the tag team King and Craig Marduk faced off against the team of Armor King and a mysterious masked wrestler who reminded her slightly of Michelle Chang. She had been registered in the tournament, but opted to go with the name Unknown, in part because she did not necessarily wish her appearance to be explicitly known yet to people such as her son, and also because she wasn't sure who she was anymore.

In truth, the woman was Jun Kazama – Chosen One of the Kazama Clan and the mother of Jin Kazama.

She was wearing a white halter top and matching white pants, both of which were adorned with ravens on the right side. She was also wearing a navy blue scarf with gold print embroidered on it. Her face, although still peaceful, now also had a hint of sadness to it. Those who knew her well (though there weren't many of those left now) would have been able to tell that she was not the same woman from over 20 years ago. Jun now seemed to have a slightly cold expression, which almost (albeit to a much less degree) resembled Kazuya Mishima's. The only real reminiscent things of her former self before she went under this subtle transformation was her white headband and the fact that apparently she was immune to aging; perhaps this was a side effect of being as pure as she was, even amongst other Kazamas. Walking forward slightly, her scarf lifted up a bit, and an unmistakable and disturbing sight could be seen – she now also had the same cursed brand of the devil which belonged to her son.

"The winners are: Armor King and Jaycee!"

The crowd roared with excitement. Jun glanced back over at the arena. Indeed, there were only two people left standing, while the other two combatants were a crumpled mess on the ground. It make her a bit upset to see them this way, especially King, a friend she had made 20 years ago at the second tournament and a person who she thought had died long ago at the hands of Ogre.

A fate that she too thought would befall her. But it appeared that even after what she had witnessed in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2, life still had a way of surprising her.

She remembered the night clearly. Amazingly, after luring the creature away from her unconscious son, Jun had managed to fend off Ogre long enough to make her escape. Instead of being relieved though, she was just confused. While raising Jin, Jun did not have much time to train in her Kazama-style self defense. Sure, she had taught Jin basic techniques, but teaching to others and practicing yourself were two different things. To put it simply, she had been unprepared to face Ogre when it arrived and yet somehow she was able to make her escape.

It shouldn't have happened.

And that's when he appeared before her. The purple spirit, disturbingly similar in appearance to her former lover Kazuya, made himself known to Jun before she could return to her son. It was the devil. He explained to her that she was able to fend off Ogre due to his help, and that she now belonged to him. Enraged by this news, Jun attempted to attack the spirit, but he just laughed manically at her before disappearing altogether.

That night changed Jun's life, and consequently, her son's. She remembered collapsing onto the ground in a sobbing mess at the news the devil had revealed to her. She knew it to be true, as she realized that his mark had indeed been branded into her skin. After recollecting herself, Jun dedicated herself to finding a way to ridding herself of the devil gene until she could reunite with Jin, not wanting to put him in further danger. She had told her son to seek out Heihachi, thinking that he would be safe there and guided on the right path.

She was wrong.

For the first time since entering the arena, Jun's expression changed from calm and collected to visibly angry. She seemed to be glaring at someone, although there was no one in her direct line of sight. But anyone would know who she was thinking of at that moment; most people had that same look when thinking of the ruthless head of the Mishima Zaibatsu. Heihachi Mishima had shot her son in the head as if it was the easiest thing in the world, thus triggering the devil gene within him and causing his gradual decent into madness. It was around this time that Kazuya had also returned and interfered in his life, causing poor Jin to lose more control of the calm demeanor taught to him by his mother, and allowing the devil to consume his mind with thoughts of revenge.

After training vigorously during the events of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 and 5, Jun felt ready to confront her son, his father and his grandfather. She would get her son back, make things right with Kazuya, and kill Heihachi herself for his treachery. Her thoughts concerning Heihachi had been influenced heavily by the devil gene in her blood, but by this time Jun truly believed that reuniting with Jin and making things right was the only way to truly free herself of this new curse.

Unfortunately however, she would have to wait again. After the fifth tournament, Jin had shocked her and most of the world by taking control of Mishima Zaibatsu and wreaking havoc across the globe. It had filled Jun with sadness and regret, and also made her extremely angry. The chaos her son was causing to befall the world had almost destroyed Jun's entire mental state. She felt the control that she was finally beginning to have over her own devil gene begin to crumble, and she would often start succumbing to it as a result. Many nights would have her waking up from her own personal hell, her clothes stained from a slimy purple substance and the area around her utterly destroyed.

Deciding that she needed to again distance herself from the public in order to regain control, Jun again went into seclusion during the sixth tournament. Knowing full well that she did not have much time left before Jin completely lost his sense of humanity, Jun pushed herself harder than ever before.

She would get her family back at all costs. She would settle for nothing less.

Finally, Jun was once again able to mentally prepare herself for confronting her son, and for the first time in over 20 years, she was going to participate in the King of Iron Fist Tournament. Not having a partner, Jun decided that she would be competing by herself. It was of little consequence; her resolve had been reinforced by the atrocities committed by her family, and it was up to her to undo them.

"The next fight! Feng Wei and Miguel Caballero Rojo versus Unknown!"

Jun closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "It's time to make things right." Then, without another word, she made her way to the arena.


	2. Stage 1 - Feng Wei and Miguel

**A/N:** _Hey guys! So I was glad that you guys actually reviewed so soon, so I decided to post another chapter in the same day. Enjoy, and don't forget to tell me what you think! Jun takes on Feng Wei and Miguel in this chapter, but it also features Asuka and Lili :)_

* * *

Above the stadium sat a viewing window in which contestants could watch the current matches taking place that day in the arena. Currently, Asuka Kazama sat here with her tag partner Lili Rochefort. They had just won their first match in the tournament against the team of Violet and Combot. Violet struck Asuka as a peculiar man who was perhaps a bit too passionate about robots. Not to mention he was apparently intent on testing them even if they weren't proficient enough in combat yet to take Asuka down, or even pose a threat.

"Asuka?"

She was snapped out of her thoughts as her partner suddenly addressed her, "Yeah?"

"Isn't that the man who hurt your father down there?"

Asuka looked down at the arena and a glare instantly etched her features. Indeed, the ferocious kenpo master was getting into his stance. His face, as usual, looked intensely serious. It seemed Feng Wei always looked like this; in fact, the only time he ever cracked any kind of smile was when it was at the expense of others. Asuka really hated this guy.

Behind him stood a very tall Spanish looking man. Asuka recognized this man as well from the previous tournament. She had encountered him in what appeared to be an urban war zone during Jin's reign of terror. He had claimed to be part of a "Resistance" against the Mishima Zaibatsu, which was also started with the help of that Korean biker guy. Despite his claims however, Asuka could see that he held a deeper grudge for Jin personally. She neither knew nor cared about the details of this hatred, but realized that this man's anger had caused him to fight carelessly. She used this to her advantage and was able to defeat him.

And then there was their opponent. The first thing that struck Asuka about the woman across from Feng and the Spanish man was that she was fighting alone. Asuka had to admit that she respected that, especially since she didn't seem worried at all. In fact, the woman's expression was one of complete calmness and determination. It was inspiring to the young Osakan, but stubborn as she was, Asuka wouldn't admit that particular statement out loud to Lili until she saw the outcome of this match. So without further ado, she cast her thoughts aside and got ready to watch the fight intently.

* * *

Down below, Jun assumed her new fighting stance. When she was in seclusion, Jun realized that although Kazama style self-defense was notorious for being able to direct any fight towards your favor, it still wasn't a balanced style. The style lacked an offensive element, because it was almost entirely based on waiting for your opponent to make a mistake. Perhaps it was the events in her life, or perhaps it was the devil gene, but Jun began longing to be a more aggressive fighter. She wanted to balance a good defense with a good offense, and so she started developing her own unique style that utilized both. She did keep some of her old moves in her repertoire though, mainly her Demon Slayer and White Heron Dance, both of which were extremely useful due to their force and unpredictability respectively. Jun felt confident that this match was hers.

She then took a moment to examine her opponents. The man starting off the match for the team looked Chinese if Jun had to guess and seemed very determined, and yet there was something about his features that seemed more familiar to her on a personal level. His eyes were eager and his breathing the slightest bit elevated. He looked like he couldn't wait to fight because he hadn't had a real challenge in a long time. Although his expression was very serious, Jun could plainly see how arrogant this man was in his abilities.

It reminded her slightly of Kazuya.

The man behind her, on the other hand, wasn't as good at concealing his arrogance. He reeked of it; everything from his lazy posture to the uninterested look on his face bothered Jun. There was a difference between arrogance and someone being flat out rude, and this man was a prime example of such a person. He clearly had no respect, and he would pay dearly for it.

"Fight!"

The crowd started cheering loudly. After hearing the announcer's words, the Chinese man suddenly lunged forward with his palm outstretched, intent and connecting it with Jun's abdomen. Quickly, she simply stepped aside and grabbed his arm, twisting it sharply and forcing him the ground. As she had predicted, the Chinese man opted to roll away from her and create some distance, but Jun wouldn't allow it. Now it was her time to go on the attack.

She charged at the man with great speed, but then decided to stop short, baiting him out as he attempted to block an attack that never came. Jun then instead decided on sidestepping into the foreground, at the same time raising her leg and bringing her heel down straight on the man's skull. The man grunted loudly, but to Jun's surprise, didn't lose his footing.

_He's resilient._

Taking her mere seconds of surprise as an opening, the man suddenly got up and body checked Jun with his large upper body. Jun flew a fair distance away. It felt as if a huge piece of concrete had been slammed into her at an alarmingly fast rate. The man's upper body strength alone was formidable, and there would be no easy way to counter someone who wasn't actually using his limbs to attack. Taking this into consideration, Jun rolled into the foreground again to avoid the Chinese man's follow up jump kick and hit him with her demon slayer. As she anticipated, he went soaring into the air helplessly. Jun then readied one of her new stances that she dubbed "Izumo", and gracefully juggled the powerless fighter in the air with her strikes for a good 7 seconds before finally kicking him away.

* * *

The crowd was going wild at this point. Above the arena, Asuka just sat in her chair speechless while Lili couldn't help but chuckle to herself. For as long as she had known Asuka, which was coming up on 2 years now, the proud Japanese fighter had never once admitted to someone being a better fighter than her. And yet here she sat, mouth agape and eyes widening by the second. Lili had never seen this side of Asuka and it was entertaining, to say the least.

Back in the arena, the now broken Chinese kenpo practitioner had managed to tag in his partner, the arrogant Spaniard known as Miguel. Jun knew this man couldn't wait to get into the fight, and thus, as she'd be taught since childhood to do, waited for him to make an attack so she could counter him. Sure enough, Miguel launched at her with a simple right hook, which Jun easily dodged by ducking under him. At the same time, she hit him with one of her leg cutters, causing the Spaniard to lose his balance slightly. As he tried to regain his footing, Jun began her White Heron Dance. Before he even knew what was supposed to be blocking, Jun's heel had already connected with his jaw.

Miguel flew down to the ground with a hard _thunk._ Instead of pursuing the man, Jun had allowed him to rise back to his feet. She wanted him to think he was in control of the fight, even though it was obvious he was anything but. Instead of charging back towards her however, Miguel just stood in front of her for a moment, rubbing his jaw and smirking.

"You fight like that girl I faced while I was in the Resistance. Charming, but your little dance gets predictable, no?"

Jun didn't let her expression falter, but her mind was now curious as to who this "girl" was. She didn't know anyone else from her family still alive that still carried on her family's fighting style, except for perhaps Jin and her older brother, both of whom were certainly not girls.

"It is advantageous when used sparingly. Now, enough words. Come."

Miguel raised his fists, thus actually having a 'stance' for the first time in the fight, "If you insist. But I'll warn you right now – I'm not going down as easily as Feng did. Unlike most of the people here, I'm not letting anything stop me until I have Jin Kazama's head."

Jun allowed herself to furrow her brow slightly while still retaining her stance, "You seek to kill my s- Jin? Why?"

The Spaniard's smug grin finally left his face, and it was replaced by a look of sorrow, "The bastard took away the only family I had left. He killed my sister without a second thought and at least a hundred others." A tear escaped his eye, surprising Jun a little, "What kind of sick man blows up a church?"

Seeing Miguel lower his head and clench his fists tighter at his sides, Jun felt the familiar pang of guilt strike her for the first time since she had stepped foot in the arena. She realized that Miguel's arrogance wasn't just a natural quality – it was the result of what she guessed were many hardships he had to face and overcome alone. And this woman, his sister, was the only thing that kept him going through those hardships. But then one day, it all vanished thanks to Jin. Thanks to her son.

Strong as she was, Jun's emotions still didn't make themselves known on the outside but there was now an inner turmoil stirring inside her. She needed to defeat Miguel, she knew that, but she also knew that by doing so she would be burning the very bridge that the Spaniard hoped to cross in order to get his revenge.

She closed her eyes, "Revenge is never the answer, Miguel. Think of what your sister would say. The question you need to ask yourself is who do you wish to please more? Your sister or yourself?"

She knew that her words would strike a chord with the man. Those who have thoughts of revenge don't simply stop having them at the urging of someone else. They are blinded by hatred, and will go to the ends of the earth in order to achieve retribution.

Again, Jun's thoughts drifted to Kazuya.

But she was suddenly jarred from her thoughts when Miguel yelled at the top of his lungs, "You don't know what it's like! No one does! He needs to pay! You won't stand in my way you stupid woman!"

Without further ado, Miguel charged towards Jun, who was looking at him now with sympathy. Despite this however, she easily dodged his reckless flurry of punches he sent her before finally catching one of his arms and holding him into submission.

"I know what it's like..." Jun said softly as she held the tall Spaniard under her weight. "But you can't beat me until you let go of your thirst for vengeance. You must find a more honorable reason to fight."

Miguel roared and stood up with Jun still on his back. He used his free are to grab her collar and throw her across the arena. She landed on her side painfully, but kept her eyes on Miguel, who was again charging towards her. He was aiming to kick her while she was down in the abdomen, so Jun instinctively managed to grab his foot and twist it first. He fell painfully on his back. As he was getting up, Jun quickly grabbed his arm and his head and tossed him into the air – her Falling Rain throw. Miguel, just like Feng, was rendered helpless in the air as Jun once again used her Izumo technique on him.

He landed painfully on his stomach and groaned loudly. The crowd, having become restless during their conversation, was once again cheering loudly knowing Jun had won this fight.

"The winner is, Unknown!"

The crowd became even louder, but Jun finally let down her walls and frowned. Even though Miguel was clearly defeated, he began struggling to get to his feet before collapsing again. He managed to make it to his hands and knees as Jun knelt down beside him and rubbed his back gently.

"I'm sorry..." she began. "I know you don't believe me, but I _do_ know how you feel. You must be patient if you wish to be at peace with what happened to your sister. Focus on bettering yourself before you become concerned with others. Goodbye, Miguel."

The poor man just sighed in frustration as Jun got up and left the arena. She felt bad, but she couldn't let her emotions get the best of her this time. She needed to make it to Jin, Heihachi and Kazuya no matter what the cost.

* * *

Above the arena, Asuka had somewhat recovered from her shock during the fight and now seemed to be pondering something.

"You know", said Lili, "I must say that in the 45 minutes that have just passed you seemed like a completely different person, Asuka. It was quite entertaining."

Asuka scoffed at her, "Shut it. Didn't you notice why?"

Lili shook her head, "She's a very good fighter but I don't believe she could beat us. And it isn't like you to be amazed by _someone else's _skills."

Asuka just sighed, "She fights like me. That woman knows Kazama-Style Self Defense somehow, but my grandparents are both dead and Jin is my only cousin. And he only has that maniac Kazuya left in his life now."

She stood up and placed her hand on the glass, "Not only that, but the way she fights is so...elegant. It's like she can do what I can, but with so much more grace. I just don't understand it, and it's frustrating me. I don't even know her name."

Lili looked up at Asuka with her eyebrow quirked, "What about Jin's mother?"

The Osakan walked away from the window towards the exit, "Well, my father told me that he had a sister that was 6 years younger than him, but he also told me she died twenty years ago. And considering the fact that he just turned 50, you'd have to be crazy to think that woman was 44. She doesn't even look much older than me."

Lili stood up as well, following Asuka out the door and towards their hotel, "You're right. She sure is mysterious isn't she? Maybe we can get some answers when we face her in a match."

Asuka nodded, "Something tells me I'm really gonna need your help when that happens."


	3. Stage 2 - Xiaoyu and Miharu

**A/N:** So this chapter in this chapter we find out what happens when Jun loses a bit of control over the devil gene inside her. Review as always!

* * *

After the match, Jun made her way to the reception area of the arena to grab her room key for the hotel she was staying at. The tournament started as soon as all the contenders had arrived, and so everyone's luggage was brought to their respective rooms while their matches were going on. As she made her way to the desk, Jun couldn't help but notice all the familiar faces. A smile tugged at her lips from some of the happier memories of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2 that started to flood into her mind. To her left, she recognized a much older Paul Phoenix speaking to Marshall Law. She recalled both of them being stoic and determined warriors 20 years ago, but now the two Americans looked to be more laid back as they enjoyed their older years.

Jun also noticed a man she remembered as being Hong Kong Super Cop Lei Wulong. She recalled the day she first met Lei; it was another fond memory of hers.

"_Um, excuse me miss?"_

_Jun turned around expectantly, "Yes?" _

_The man rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "I think you might have my bag by accident." _

_Jun looked down at the luggage bag she had been dragging around with her, flushing in embarrassment at her mistake, "Oh my goodness! I'm sorry, I didn't even realize." _

_The man chuckled, "It's quite alright. They do look almost identical don't they? I'm assuming this one is yours...uh Jun Kazama?" _

_Jun was about to question how the man knew her name having just arrived here herself, but then she saved herself another embarrassment as she noticed that her name was on her actual luggage. Smiling, she looked down at the bag in her own hands for a moment before exchanging it with the man's._

"_Yes it is Lei Wulong. Thank you."_

_He smiled back, "Haha. It's no problem. You can just call me Lei by the way. Or if you'd like, 'Hong Kong Super Cop Lei Wulong'. That's my official title." _

_Jun chuckled, "Somehow I doubt that, super cop." _

_Lei grew red from embarrassment, "A man can dream, can't he?"_

Jun smiled to herself again. Despite how much her life changed after that tournament, there were certain people she didn't want to forget. Lei Wulong was one of those people. He was a good person, and good people helped her hold onto the person she once was.

They helped her stay sane. They helped her stay in control.

It was memories like that which allowed her to keep a positive attitude during some of the toughest times of her life. Jun wondered if Jin had ever reminisced of better times to keep himself going as well. She hoped so.

Finally arriving at the desk, Jun was greeted by the older receptionist.

"Hello, are you a participant in the tournament?"

Jun smiled slightly and nodded, "That's correct. I'm registered under the name 'Unknown'."

The receptionist wasn't even fazed by this information. Jun had expected her to raise at least a few questions about why she hadn't used her real name, but instead, the lady just found her key and handed it to her with a bright smile.

"There you go. Enjoy your stay at the Iron Fist Hotel and remember to be up early in order to reconvene here for your next bout. Match up draws start as early as 10:00am for all participants."

Jun took the key from her hand as she began to leave, "I will keep that in mind. Thank you."

"Miss?"

Jun turned back to the receptionist.

"Um...I know it's not my place, but you shouldn't run from who you are. Our identities are the only things that keep us truly unique, you know?"

Jun just stared at the woman for a moment before walking away silently towards the hotel.

* * *

"Panda...look I know that you want to protect and fight alongside me tomorrow, but Miharu really wanted to enter the tournament this year with me. She's never participated before and she's really excited. You understand, right?"

The huge bear just looked at her most trusted friend and let out a loud grunt before slouching back onto the ground of their hotel room.

Xiaoyu sighed, "Panda..."

Seeing the frown start forming on the girl's face, Panda realized that Xiaoyu was indeed in a difficult position. She was forced to choose between her two best friends this time around, but didn't want to upset either of them. The big gentle bear suddenly felt bad.

Panda sat up straight and hugged the tiny girl from behind, "(It's okay, I'm not mad. Miharu deserves to fight alongside you too.)"

Xiaoyu face lit up and she turned around and attacked Panda with a hug of her own, "Oh thank you, Panda! This means so much!" She then stood up straight and put her hands on her hips, "We won't lose, you can count on that."

Later that night, Xiao and Miharu were standing out on the balcony of their hotel room. Staring out into the vast city before them, Xiaoyu couldn't help but wonder about Jin's whereabouts. She knew that the King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 was over, but she didn't know what had happened to Jin after. She didn't even know who had won the tournament, if someone even had at all. Near the end, the structure of the whole thing started falling apart. No one was able to progress any further due to G-Corporation and the Mishima Zaibatsu suddenly declaring war with each other, and thus Xiaoyu was forced to return home. She hadn't heard anything about Jin since, but the world had somewhat returned back to normal.

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"

Instead of glaring at her like she usually did whenever Miharu hinted at the possibility of her and Jin, Xiao just sighed, "I hope he's okay..."

Miharu placed her hand on Xiao's arm, "I'm sure he is. Besides, we just need to kick everyone's butt in this tournament and then I'm sure we'll find him."

Xiao laughed at her best friend, "You're so excited, and it's so easy to tell. You sure you're up for it?"

Miharu stretched her arms above head and yawned, "Well, if _you_ can do well in the tournament, it probably isn't THAT hard..."

Xiao pushed her Miharu playfully, "Let's not forget who taught you how to fight. You're just a second-rate copy to the real deal."

Miharu yawned again and headed back inside, "Yeah well, let's hope I don't turn on you at our match tomorrow. That'd be a real shame. I'm headed to bed, night Xiao."

Xiaoyu giggled to herself before turning back towards the city, "Night."

_Please be alright..._

* * *

The next day, all the remaining fighters had gathered in the lobby of the arena. Jun stood quietly with the others, silently wondering why the Mishimas and her son still hadn't shown their faces. Although she assumed they wouldn't, that didn't mean she wasn't curious to see them now. This was especially true of Kazuya; a man she thought had died long ago. The last she heard, he was being regarded as a hero for standing against the Mishima Zaibatsu, but Jun knew the truth – he was just trying to gain control of both. The thought made her sad, the good in Kazuya was either gone completely or so deeply buried within his soul that it would take a miracle to retrieve it.

One of the tournament officials finally took his place in front of everyone, "May I have all of your attention please?"

Everyone quieted down.

The man continued, "Thank you. The match up draws are now completed for today. The first match will be as follows: Ling Xiaoyu and Miharu Hirano versus Unknown! Good luck to both of you, your fight begins in 10 minutes."

Jun walked away, not bothering to acknowledge the strange looks she was receiving from some of the competitors. She decided to go and meditate alone for a couple minutes before heading out to the arena.

* * *

Paul Phoenix turned to his best friend, "Hey Marshall, didn't that woman look familiar to you?"

His Chinese-American friend shook his head, "Nope. Look we gotta shape up, Paul. We're against Lei and Steve next, and I heard they're destroying the competition so far."

Paul's confusion was replaced with a confident smirk, "You got nothing to worry about buddy."

* * *

As she stepped foot into the arena, Jun was finally able to see her opponents.

_They're just kids..._

"Ha! Two on one; this should be easy, right Xiao?"

Xiaoyu was stretching beside her partner, "Focus, Miharu. Confidence is an asset, but overconfidence is a limitation. Jin once told me that."

A determined look etched Miharu's face, "Right! Let's do this! I'll start off for us."

The crowd was cheering loudly as usual. Both fighters took their stances and focused. Soon, the announcer's blaring voice caused everyone to quiet down for the moment.

"Welcome back everyone, to the Iron Fist Arena! The next fight to start us off: Ling Xiaoyu and Miharu Hirano versus Unknown!"

Jun closed her eyes. The crowd's excitement returned, but all she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat and her own thoughts. She took these last moments to once again mentally prepare herself before the match.

_I must not underestimate them. Their chi is stronger than I anticipated. _

_**...Destroy them both.**_

Jun's eyes snapped open. That last voice...

"Fight!"

As Miharu began to walk slowly towards Jun, the Kazama was currently having a different kind of battle within her head.

_What are you doing here? Get out of my head._

_**You know that the tournament is only going to keep getting harder. Eventually, you're going to need my help.**_

_I don't need you at all. Now leave, and allow me to focus._

Miharu noticed that even though her opponent was in her stance, she hadn't moved since the match started, and her eyes seemed to be distant. She waited for another moment, and when the woman still didn't move, she attacked with a sweep kick.

Jun lost her footing and hit the ground awkwardly. As she got up cautiously, she noticed that instead of following up, the girl in front of her had taken an interesting stance low to the ground. Then, without warning, she sprung up and thrust her palms towards Jun's face. She hardly had time to react, but somehow was able to parry the girl away and kick her in her side, sending her falling away a few feet. Jun resumed her stance and her eyes refocused on the task at hand.

_You are interfering with my fight. If you wish to help, then do so by allowing me to focus._

_**You can't run forever, Jun.**_

Finally, Jun felt her conscious start to regain full control again. She took a moment to calm herself before connecting her fist with the girl's abdomen as she got up. She then attempted her double lift kicks, but surprisingly, the younger girl was able to dodge them leaving Jun completely open. She then thrust her palms out again, this time connecting.

_**You need me.**_

Jun groaned. She was having trouble focusing. This girl knew what she was doing, but even still Jun could clearly see she was relatively inexperienced. This shouldn't have been a difficult fight, and yet _his _intrusion was making it one.

_Leave me be!_

Beginning to get frustrated, Jun got up quickly and waited for Miharu to make another attack. She did so, with a rather predictable jump kick. Easily, Jun caught her leg and threw her away. Wasting no time, she then lunged forward and hit her with her demon slayer. Helpless, the crowd expected Jun to use Izumo again like her previous match, but to everyone's shock, Jun instead grabbed Miharu's leg again and viciously threw her straight at the steel wall of the arena. The poor girl yelped out in pain as she sunk to the floor.

_**That's the way. **_

The entire crowd went completely quiet. Even Xiao couldn't formulate words. As soon as she realized what was happening though, she jumped into the arena and pushed Jun away from her best friend.

"What are you doing? She's clearly beaten! If you want a real fight then face me instead!"

The woman turned her head to face Xiao. To her horror, her eyes were glowing an ominous yellow, and she had a wicked smirk on her face.

"Very well."

Xiao didn't let this deter her for long, and she attacked using her storming flower technique. Unfortunately however, Jun easily caught her hand before it actually hit its intended target and twisted her arm. She painfully flipped onto her back, and then Jun, while still holding onto Xiao's wrist, pressed her foot on her Xiao's elbow and started applying pressure.

_**Just a little more and this fight is yours! Now break it, break the pathetic girl's arm!**_

Suddenly, the devil's presence left Jun's mind. Her eyes reverted back to the calm dark brown that they usually were, and her grip loosened on Xiao's arm. She then looked down at the poor girl who was getting up slowly.

"Your partner has been defeated. You have lost."

Tears were pricking at Xiaoyu's eyes, "Fine, just don't go anywhere near her. You've done enough."

Jun looked towards the other girl, who was now a crumpled mess on the arena's cold floor. She nodded once to Xiao and left the arena quietly.


	4. Pictures and Potions

**A/N: **_Alright so this chapter doesn't have any fights in it. I mainly put it in to briefly explain what's going on with Jin Kazuya and Heihachi, as well a few other things. Reviews are of course welcome as always :)_

* * *

Xiao was sitting with Panda in the infirmary. She hadn't stopped crying since she got here an hour ago.

Her best friend was lying unconscious beside her. The doctors had said she would be alright; Miharu had sustained two fractured ribs and a couple bruises here and there but that was it.

But that wasn't the point.

Xiao remembered back to about a week ago. She and Miharu were hanging out at her place when she suddenly came up with what she then thought would be a great idea.

"_We should totally team up for the next tournament! It'll be so fun!"_

Yeah...fun.

Xiao felt tears welling up in her eyes again. There was nothing fun about being thrown carelessly into an unforgiving steel wall like a rag doll. She didn't care if it _was_ technically legal, that didn't change the fact that it was completely out of line. Early in the match it seemed as though their opponent wasn't a total monster. The woman was fighting with what looked to Xiao like some kind of variation of the Kazama style martial arts that Jin used to fight with-

Wait.

Xiaoyu's eyes widened at her sudden realization, "It couldn't be..."

Back when they were in school together at Mishima Polytechnic, Jin had once showed Xiao a picture of his mother. Although the image of her was foggy in her head now, a few things stuck out to her. She remembered that his mother had that same headband and hairstyle that their opponent had, and she also had the same eyes. Well, at least they _were_ the same – until they changed into that scary looking yellow colour. Nonetheless, Xiao was now certain that the woman she and Miharu faced was Jin's mother.

It was Jun Kazama.

Xiao sighed and looked down at Miharu's unconscious form on the bed.

Jun wasn't the same though. At Mishima Polytechnic, Jin often talked about how compassionate and caring his mother was, and how much he missed her because of that. In fact, that was probably one of the only things he talked about – he had a habit of turning any of their conversations back in that direction.

But Xiao didn't see any of those traits an hour ago at their match. All she saw was a woman with a cold expression that suddenly turned ruthless in the blink of an eye at her best friend's expense. It depressed Xiao because it had reminded her of Jin, who was now very similar to Jun in that respect. She needed to find him and talk to him about this.

She needed to warn him about his mother.

* * *

Asuka and Lili smiled triumphantly as the two capoeira practitioners finally stopped dancing. They turned to high five each other, and then recoiled in pain at how much it actually hurt when they did so. Despite this, they were happy. Even though they were rivals, both teammates had to admit that their chemistry together was growing with each coming match. Lili's acrobatic in-your-face style suited Asuka's more defensive approach perfectly. They were cleaning up.

"Nothing can stop us!" exclaimed Lili as they left the arena.

Asuka smirked, "Never thought I'd say it, but you're really good at working in teams. Who woulda thought..."

Lili rolled her eyes, "Oh please. I'm really not that stubborn. I just have a lot of pride. And quite deservingly so I might add."

Asuka smiled, "Well even though we won, we gotta be on our toes for when we face that other woman. I heard today she sent some poor girl to the infirmary."

Lili's eyes widened at this news, "Seriously? Geez...I really do wish we knew more about her before we go up against her."

Asuka nodded, "That's why we're going to pay her a visit."

Lili turned her head towards her friend, "Wait, what?"

"I saw her exit her room this morning when we left ours. You must not have noticed because you were too busy ogling that British boxer guy," the Osakan said laughing.

Lili's face turned red, "I-I wasn't! We just bumped into each other and parted ways."

Asuka grinned, "And then you watched him walk away for a good minute afterwards."

An evil smirk suddenly fell on Lili's face, "Well at least my feelings are way better concealed than yours are for the Korean biker."

Asuka let out an exasperated sigh, "UUUUGH. Are you ever gonna let that go? All I did was compliment him on his match today!"

Lili quirked her eyebrow, "Okay first of all, you don't compliment anyone on anything ever. Second, it took you like 20 seconds to even get the compliment out of your mouth because you were too enraptured by his beauty."

With that, the Monegasque girl flicked her hair elegantly and walked away from her friend, who was now gritting her teeth in anger.

"You better hope you're still alive by the time we have our next match, you hear me!"

* * *

Jun stood in her bedroom and looked at her reflection.

What she did earlier, it was unacceptable.

Sure, it was the devil that truly did harmed the poor girl, but it was _her_ body. It was _her_ conscious that had momentarily been taken over. _She_ was the one who lost control, no one else.

_That girl couldn't have been older than 18..._

Jun looked down at her shirt. If she looked closely, she could see the faintest shade of purple along the bottom of it. She sighed.

_I have to find Jin. Where could he be?_

It had been two days now, and still, Jin hadn't shown his face in the tournament. Jun assumed that since it was being hosted by the Mishima Zaibatsu, now led by him, he would at least be seen around the premises. But he was nowhere in sight. Not only that, but she had yet to see any Mishimas here either. It was concerning; Jun knew that both Kazuya and Heihachi would jump at the chance to once again reclaim control of the Zaibatsu, but by now she would have seen them if they were here. She also knew that if Jin had seen her face that he would have for sure stayed to compete or at least acknowledged her.

...wouldn't he?

* * *

A couple miles away, the CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu sat at his desk quietly. His eyes were closed and his brow was furrowed; he appeared to be in deep thought. Suddenly, he was jarred from his thoughts when he heard his second in command, Nina Williams, walk into his office.

"I told you not to just barge in here, Nina."

"Jin, you can't stay cooped up in here forever. You know they're expecting you in the tournament. _She's_ expecting you in the tournament..."

Jin looked up at Nina from his desk, "She isn't supposed to be there. She's supposed to be dead. That woman is a shell of the mother I once knew."

Nina just sighed, "You're not at all happy to see she's alive?"

Jin stood up and turned towards the giant window behind his desk, "Would you be Nina? If you saw your father alive one day, out of the blue with no warning, would you be happy to see him? Or would you be confused as to why he waited so long to seek you out?"

Nina looked down at the floor, "I guess you're right. But you need to be there regardless. Word has it that Kazuya and Heihachi aren't there right now either. That can only mean they're plotting to come here directly."

"And this concerns us why?"

Nina walked up to him, "Because in case you haven't noticed Jin, our military isn't really prepared for another attack so soon from either of them. Kazuya still has most of G-Corporation with him, and you know Heihachi probably has his own branch of military as well. Not to mention that half-uncle of yours leading that rebellion against us."

"Lars won't come. We have a mutual understanding now."

"Even still. We need to go. You know we don't stand a chance with most of our military now either helping to clean up your mess or patrolling the tournament."

Jin's expression didn't even falter. He just kept staring blankly out the window. Nina rolled her eyes and continued.

"My point is, neither of us is safe here. But if we participate in the tournament we'll have more personal security, and it'd actually be tougher for them to get to us. Not to mention both Kazuya and Heihachi would probably progress fairly like everyone else due to some stupid code of honour or some shit."

Jin laughed dryly, "You certainly don't know my family at all."

The blonde sighed again, "Whatever. What I'm getting at is we should be there because if we're going to end up dead by the end of this I want to drag it out as long as possible. And maybe kick Anna's ass one more time in the process."

Jin shook his head, "Fine, we'll leave tonight. By the way, in case you don't already know, we're partners. But don't expect me to carry you through this thing. If you can't hold your own, I'm leaving you to fend for yourself."

Nina laughed, "That won't happen."

* * *

Deep in a lab in the mountains, Heihachi Mishima stood by some of his more loyal scientists as they were working on something.

"Is it almost finished?"

The head scientist nodded, "Yes sir. Once the mixture cools down it'll be ready for consumption. There should be no problem."

Heihachi grinned sinisterly, "Perfect."

When the concoction was finally completed, Heihachi snatched it from his assistant and smirked triumphantly.

"I'll see you at the tournament Jin. And this time, I'll make sure you don't get to fly away."

* * *

Kazuya, meanwhile, was standing with many of his troops out in front of G-Corporation's headquarters. They were preparing to launch an assault on the Mishima Zaibatsu as Nina had predicted. Just then, however, Anna caught up with Kazuya as they were getting ready to leave.

"Kazuya, one of our scouts just reported in saying that Jin and Nina were spotted leaving the Zaibatsu's headquarters. Apparently they're headed in the direction of the tournament."

Kazuya smirked to himself, "So he wants to play that way? Fine, I'll take his bait. Anna, secure a vehicle for me. We leave at once."

Anna nodded, but stayed put, "Um, there's something else."

Kazuya just turned to her expectantly.

"It seems that there's one new competitor this time around. And it's someone you know personally. Here."

Anna took out a picture taken by one of G-Corporation's spies and handed it to Kazuya. He looked at it seriously for a moment, then grinned evilly as his red eye began to glow faintly.

"I hope you aren't expecting any special treatment, Jun."


	5. A Short Lived Reunion

**A/N: **_Alright, so this is another chapter without a fight scene. The next one will have one though so no worries. This chapter mainly focuses on Jin and the Mishimas making it to the tournament and a brief interaction between Jun and Kazuya. Review review review!_

* * *

Jin and Nina sped their motorcycles down the freeway, weaving in and out of traffic. Finally, they pulled up in front of the huge arena.

"Time to face the music," said Nina with a grin on her face.

Jin didn't respond as he started to walk into the building. The man at the front desk stood up immediately to welcome his boss.

"Welcome, sir! We are so pleased you have been able to make it."

Jin saluted the man and he sat back down, "Register us and show me to our living quarters."

The man nodded, "Of course! This way, please."

As they walked towards the hotel, Jin let his mind wander. He couldn't stop thinking about this woman who appeared to be his mother. Her reason for being here now after so long only attributed to increasing Jin's anger about the entire situation. He could feel the devil gene rising inside him, begging to get out, but he calmed himself and quelled it as they walked into the hotel.

Jin turned to the man as they walked through the doors of the hotel, "Thank you. We can find our way from here."

"Of course, sir."

"Jin?"

The voice had come from Nina, "What is it?"

"Why are we here? I mean, it'd be safer if we just had our own place to stay during this thing. Why did you choose to stay will all the other combatants?"

Jin just walked away from her, "I don't like the idea of hiding away from my enemies."

As the two entered the lobby, immediately Jin was met with glares from just about everyone in the room.

"About damn time, Kazama!"

Jin recognized the voice instantly as Hwoarang's but ignored the Korean biker as he continued on his way towards his room. Hwoarang just grunted in frustration. He knew he couldn't get close to Jin right now due to it being outside of the tournament and the countless amount of guards that would apprehend him if he did. In fact, he assumed that was the reason why most people were just letting him walk by. It didn't matter though; Hwoarang would crush anyone in his way of taking on and kicking Jin's ass himself in the tournament.

"Better get comfortable now Kazama, because you won't be after I'm done with you in this tournament!"

* * *

Nina in the meantime had separated from Jin and made her way towards Lars and Alisa, who were also in the lobby talking to the man at the desk.

"Now that Jin is finally here, I want you to make sure this building is extra secure. Obviously, Kazuya will be here shortly as well, and we can't let G-Corp in the premises."

The blond laughed dryly, "I wasn't expecting to hear that from you of all people, Lars."

The Swede turned around and nodded at Nina, "Hello Ms. Williams. It is good to see you-"

"Save it."

Lars chuckled, "Right. Well anyway, things have changed between Jin and myself. As Azazel was unable to alleviate his devil gene, Jin decided to focus his military more on rebuilding the cities and towns he demolished last year in his conquest."

Nina rolled her eyes, "I knew that already. But why are you against G-Corp now? Even if you're helping Jin you have no beef with them, and you're putting yourself in a bad spotlight since everyone else sees G-Corp as heroes."

Lars shook his head, "I have beef with Kazuya. That man is the only one who stands in the way of finally achieving peace between the Mishima conglomerate and the rest of the world."

"Not the only one!"

Everyone in the lobby, including Nina and all of Jin's guards looked in shock at the man in front of them. He was much more youthful in appearance, his voice had changed slightly, he now had a full head of hair and his build was somehow even more intimidating then before, but there was no mistaking who the man was.

Lars grit his teeth, "Heihachi..."

A hearty laugh escaped the Mishima's lips, "It's good to see you again, _son. _You look well, although obviously not as good as myself. I see my new look has taken most of you by surprise. Don't worry, you'll all get to experience my new power first hand come tomorrow! Hahahahahahahaha!"

Everyone could still hear Heihachi's laugh even after he had disappeared from sight. It had somehow gotten even more irritating with his new voice.

Nina narrowed her eyes in his direction, "Damn."

Lars just shook his head, "Don't worry, it won't be a problem. I don't care how young that old man looks now, there's no way he can take our combined forces. Right, Alisa?"

The rebel leader smirked at his pink haired companion, who nodded in determination, "Hai!"

Nina rolled her eyes and walked away from them both, having had enough of this conversation. She made her way to reconvene with Jin and discuss their plan of attack for their first match tomorrow. But as she was walking down the empty hallway, she came face to face with the person that had arguably caused most of this mess to begin with. Ironically, both women were thinking the exact same thing as they looked into each other's eyes.

_She looks the exact same..._

* * *

Kazuya meanwhile stood outside the arena with Anna. All around them were the unconscious bodies of the Tekken Force soldiers who had tried to stop them from entering.

The Mishima just shook his head as he walked over their bodies and into the building, "Truly pathetic. I find it sad that those who wanted Jin's head were unable to get to him through the last tournament. The Tekken Force is a joke now."

Anna laughed, "Jin probably doesn't even care enough to do anything about it."

Kazuya's smirk faded, "Then he is a fool too. Come, we must go register in the tournament."

His female companion grinned at him, "Will they let us?"

Kazuya's eye started glowing faintly, "They won't have a choice."

* * *

Jun nodded in acknowledgement to the woman in front of her, "Nina Williams. It has been a while."

Nina wasted no time in small talk. She wanted to get as many answers as she could before Jun decided to force her way out of this conversation. And Nina knew it'd probably be unnecessarily difficult to stop her once that happened.

"Why are you here?" asked the blonde quickly.

Jun's face didn't even falter the smallest bit, "Because I choose to be."

The blonde rolled her eyes, "Well that much is obvious. I meant why did you choose to be here?"

Jun just stared at her for a moment. Her face was completely passive; the Japanese woman was even better than Nina at concealing her emotions.

"It was good to see you again Nina, but I must be going back to my room to rest until my match tomorrow. If you would excuse me-"

Before she could think about it, Nina grabbed Jun's arm, "We're not done yet, Kazama."

Jun looked down at Nina's hand on her arm, "That is not a wise idea. Save it for our match."

The assassin smirked at her, but let go of Jun's arm regardless, "Gladly. Don't think it'll be easy though. I think you'll be a bit hesitant to fight once you see my partner."

"I doubt that," said Jun as she began to walk away.

"Well I suppose that's a good thing. Seeing as your son's pretty pissed at you at the moment."

Jun stopped in her tracks and turned her head back to the blonde. Her eyes only were only widened the slightest bit, but Nina could clearly see Jun was surprised at what she had said.

"Jin..."

Nina turned her back to her and started walking away, "See you in the ring, Jun."

* * *

Deciding that she instead needed some fresh air, Jun left the hotel and decided to take a short walk around the city alone. While she was walking, a familiar voice rung inside her head.

_**They're all here Jun. The Mishimas and your son. And it seems Kazuya has decided to partner with the other Williams sister.**_

_You're point?_

_**It looks like he's moved on.**_

_I only care about my son now. _

_**Touching, but you should know that I can easily tell when you're lying. **_

_Whatever I had with that man was destroyed the moment Heihachi betrayed my son and Kazuya himself had started trying to kill him. I'm done trying to save his soul. I only wish to save Jin now._

_**Haha.**_

_What's so funny?_

_**Even after all this time, you are still harboring feelings for Kazuya? You know he's incapable of love now, right? **_

_I told you I had no feelings for him. Leave.  
_

_**Humans are indeed pathetic.**_

"It's irritating, isn't it?"

Jun's head snapped around at the sound of his voice. It was much colder than she remembered, although it was also arguably cold back then as well.

"The devil does not seek to control us like you think. It seeks to simply make us superior to other beings. You shouldn't fight it's influence."

"Kazuya..."

"Hello Jun."

He was wearing what looked to be a purple camouflage outfit, the top half of which was covered in a bulletproof vest. On his hands were the trademark red studded gloves that Jun remembered from over 20 years ago. But what stuck out most to her was a new feature that Kazuya now had, which unnerved her to say the least.

"Your eye..."

Kazuya laughed, "Courtesy of G-Corporation. It is a reminder of what my purpose is now in life."

Jun sighed, "And what would that be?"

Kazuya smirked at her, "You know the answer to that already."

Jun nodded, "I do. But I don't think you do."

The man's smile faded at what she was suggesting, "You don't know me anymore, Jun. I'm not the same person I might have been 20 years ago. More importantly, I no longer care for anyone other than myself."

Jun took a step towards him, but kept her face serious, "Are you certain?"

And for the smallest moment, maybe not even a second, Kazuya's expression softened. He turned away from Jun and walked away.

"I don't know why you're back here, nor do I care. What I do know is that once your son and my father are out of the picture, I'll finally get what I deserve."

Jun looked down at the ground, "What you deserve is a real chance at life..."

She heard Kazuya snort as he walked away from her, "Hmph. While I might agree with you to some degree on that Jun, we have very different conceptions of what defines 'life'."

He turned to look at her once last time before leaving. To Jun's dismay, his eye was glowing menacingly.

"If I see you again in this tournament, I'll kill you myself."

With that, Kazuya left Jun standing outside by herself and disappeared from sight. Despite her determination, after he left Jun could feel her resolve starting to waver.

_**I knew you still had feelings for him.**_

_I...it's not the same. All I feel for him now is pity. _

_**This is just a repeat of when you two first met. You know as well as I that those feelings will start to change into something more...real. **_

_Stop!_

_**You're lucky that you have me now. I can stop you from indulging in those feelings again. **_

Jun collapsed onto the ground and held her head in frustration, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Suddenly, Jun's arm started to burn intensely. She cried out in pain and started breathing heavier as she fell on all fours. Slowly, she felt that dreaded purple gunk start to take over her arms and legs as her vision became blurry.

After that, everything went black.


	6. Stage 3 - Asuka and Lili

**REASONS FOR HIATUS**

Yes, you guys. I'm completely aware that I've been a dick on here as I haven't updated in quite sometime. There are however, reasons. First of all, my laptop is shit. I couldn't open any web browsers for a while so I couldn't even use it and had to use my roomate's. The second reason is that my time was seriously restricted because I started exams shortly after my last chapter. And the final reason is because I went back to work as well after I was finished exams. But anyway, if you've been waiting patiently for an update, you are an awesome human being and are thus rewarded with this chapter! I'll try and make sure updates come more regularly after this, but unfortunately no promises. But what would motivate me is reviews like always!

* * *

Asuka and Lili were roaming around a mall about a half mile away from the hotel. They were, as usual, engaged in a very animated argument. It must have been a mystery as to how the two were best friends to anyone watching them interact on the outside.

"So what if my style isn't elegant? Practically speaking its way more useful than yours! I think I proved that when I kicked your ass a year ago!"

Lili shrugged her off whilst looking at a rather tacky looking pattern blouse, "Oh please. I believe it was quite a challenging fight for you, not to mention I came up with my skills on my own. You on the other hand, learned them from daddy."

Asuka clenched her fist, "How can you say your style is better than mine because you came up with it yourself? That's the dumbest argument I've ever heard! And put that shirt away already, I'm starving."

Lili laughed, "It sure is repulsive isn't it? Maybe not for city folk like yourself, but I wouldn't be caught dead in something like this."

The Japanese girl unclenched her fist and gave Lili an unnaturally bright smile, "What if _Steve _said he liked it?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes, "Well then he'd have to deal with it. I do have limits you know. I'm not an animal."

Asuka smirked triumphantly, "But you admit you're in love with him then?"

Lili closed her eyes, "Well, no...but his accent..."

Asuka facepalmed, "Keep it in your pants Lili...geez."

* * *

Before she let her mind get completely consumed, the little consciousness left in Jun looked desperately to get as far away from civilization as possible. She was no doubt receiving odd looks from people based on her new appearance, but she paid no mind to them as she kept running.

_**Stop fighting it! It's over! You've lost!**_

_I need to get away from everyone before you kill innocent people! _

_**Keep this up, and I will!**_

Despite her efforts, Jun finally stopped running as a creepy smile found its way to her lips. She looked down at her hands which were covered in the purple substance and laughed to herself.

"Perhaps it's time to take out the rest of the competition."

Jun then headed back in the direction of the hotel. The only thing on her mind was the destruction of everyone involved in the tournament. With Jin and Kazuya on her side, there would be no stopping them.

She wouldn't stop until everyone else was dead.

* * *

Not far away, Asuka and Lili had left the mall and were on their way back to the hotel to get a good night's rest for their match tomorrow. They had also finally called a truce after devolving into yet another argument involving both of their respective crushes.

"So who do you think we'll be facing tomorrow?" asked Asuka excitedly.

Lili shrugged, "Whoever it is, they're pretty unlucky."

Asuka looked at the huge arena in the distance, "I wouldn't be so sure. There's nobody left in this competition that can be considered flat out weak. I'm still confident in our chances, but we shouldn't be overconfident. It's not a good thing."

Suddenly, the two girls heard people screaming. About 30 seconds later, they noticed a large group of people running down the streets looking horrified.

Lili was looking in all directions, "What's going on?"

Her friend simply pointed in the direction where everyone was running from, "That might have something to do with it."

Down the street was a woman, clad in some sort of purple slime. She had an evil smile on her face and was looking directly at Asuka and Lili. Something about the way she walked looked almost unnatural; it was almost as if some invisible force was trying to hold her back. Behind her lie a lifeless body; it too was covered in the slime.

Lili's eyes widened, "Who the heck is that? And why are they covered in that sickening purple stuff?"

Asuka narrowed her eyes, "I don't know, but we have to stop her. I have a feeling she's going to start harming more innocent people if we don't."

The blonde suddenly grabbed her friend's shoulders, turned her around and started to shake her fiercely, "Asuka! Are you insane? Something about that woman is inhuman! Not to mention the fact that apparently she just killed someone!"

As much as she understood Lili and wanted to run like the others, Asuka's sense of justice caused her to stay put. Two police cars soon arrived on the scene. The officers quickly got out of their cruisers and got behind their car doors for cover. One of the officers then yelled over to Asuka and Lili.

"Girls! Get behind us!"

Just then however, the purple coated woman suddenly raised her hand above her head. To Asuka and Lili's horror, a new pool of slime opened up under the police officers and some sort of very large spike emerged from it, sending them and their cars flying away. The woman's small grin then returned as she looked straight into Asuka's eyes.

"Lili, get outta here."

"What? No way, I'm not leaving you with her alone!"

"She clearly wants to fight me! She wants nothing to do with you! I'll be fine, I promise!"

But to Asuka's dismay, Lili instead decided to attack the woman. She leapt up and attempted to hit her with a fierce jump kick, but the woman caught her foot and threw her away.

Asuka gasped, "Lili!"

The Osakan ran towards the purple-coated woman, who in turn was now walking towards her best friend. But just as Asuka got close enough to land a punch, another spike emerged from under her and knocked her back.

Asuka landed a few feet away and groaned in pain. As she looked back towards her friend, she was horrified to see Lili still on the ground as the woman started summoning what she thought would be another spike. Instead however, a very large slime-covered hand emerged from the ground in front of the blonde girl.

Asuka tried to get her feet to run faster, but she was simply too late. The woman suddenly willed the giant hand to land straight on Lili's body. Her best friend let out one last scream of agony before everything went quiet once again.

"Lili!"

The purple clad woman turned back towards Asuka. Her grin had widened into a sinister smile and her eyes seemed to be glowing even more.

The young Japanese girl looked around at her surroundings. They were in a completely open street, and yet there wasn't a person in sight. It was just the young Osakan and this mysterious woman standing a few feet away from her. There were no civilians at all, and no other police had arrived on the scene since the first few cops had met their unfortunate demise.

Despite her brash and confident attitude, the unmistakable sentiment of fear began to break through into Asuka's consciousness. Lili wasn't moving; Asuka only hoped that she wasn't dead. She tried to get her legs to move, but her feet had seemingly sealed themselves firmly in place - she wasn't going anywhere.

So with no other options left, Asuka clenched her fist and glared at the woman.

"That was my best friend, you dumbass. I don't care who or what you are, you're going down."

At her statement, the woman's smile surprisingly faded and she furrowed her brow slightly. When she saw this, Asuka felt her confidence returning to her and smirked.

"That's right, I'm not afraid of you. So quit standing there and let's go!"

"Intriguing..."

Asuka's eyes widened. It was the first time she had heard the strange woman speak since being in this situation, and she definitely sounded...less than human. It was much deeper than Asuka had thought it would have been, and yet parts of it also sounded somewhat normal.

It was almost as if Asuka was talking to two separate people.

"What's intriguing?"

To Asuka's dismay, the woman's grin returned, "You are a Kazama, yet your attitude says anything but. You are completely and utterly arrogant, to the point where it halts your true abilities. I am surprised to see this type of behavior from someone of your lineage."

Asuka glared daggers into the unknown woman and clenched her fists tighter, "Shut up! I'm not arrogant, I'm confident! And I deserve to be confident! I've cleaned up more streets and saved more people from evil people like you more than you'd think!"

The woman's smile stayed plastered on her face, but she sighed a little, "That _does _happen to be a trait that you share with another Kazama I know. Tell me, Asuka...quelling evil and stopping pain...what drives you to these actions? What is your motivation?"

Asuka furrowed her brows in confusion, "Isn't it obvious? To save innocent people from suffering! No one deserves to be treated like a piece of trash, except for I guess people like you."

The woman facepalmed and let out a small laugh, "Humans truly are pathetic. Why is it that you all believe that pain and suffering go hand in hand? Suffering is an inevitable part of every life force's being, but pain is an option. One _chooses_ to inflict pain, but the purpose is not always clear."

The purple clad woman turned back to stare at Lili's still motionless form, "Suffering may follow pain, but the result in the end is something very different – death. Ending a life...it is wonderful, isn't it? Life may be good at times, but it will always have its ups and downs no matter how optimistic you might be. But death...death is an eternal sleep; it is a peaceful slumber that is never-ending, and thus it is the embodiment of happiness. And so, while suffering is by no means a good thing, pain is essential as it causes death."

She turned back to Asuka and threw her hand into the air with determination, "Do you see what I'm saying Asuka? By causing destruction and pain throughout the world, I will save humans! I will allow them the timeless slumber that you all so desire and end your denial of finding happiness in life! The Devil's influence will help to shape a new beginning for us all! I will lead you to salvation!"

Asuka just stood there, dumbfounded. Obviously, it was clear that everything this woman had just said went against all of her beliefs, but Asuka still found herself thinking hard about some of the finer points. She couldn't help but look back at Lili on the ground. True, she was dirty and covered in slime, but she did look rather...peaceful. Her breathing was even and there was the smallest trace of a smile on her lips. It was almost as if she was experiencing a pleasant dream. Despite the fact that she was completely insane, on the tiniest level this mysterious inhuman being had a point...

...but that didn't mean what she was doing was right in the slightest.

Asuka pointed at the woman in anger, "You're totally nuts! You think it's okay to kill someone just because they might be happy in the afterlife? If that's the case, then why don't you just go kill yourself so you and your dumb beliefs will stop ruining us sane people's lives!"

The woman began walking towards Asuka again, "The only reason I draw breath is to save your race. I am doing you a service-"

"Shut up! You're seriously just some twisted freak! I'll show you the only reason I draw breath: to punish monsters like you!"

With that Asuka's legs finally unhinged themselves from the ground and she ran towards the woman with great speed. Her anger peaked, the Japanese youth threw punch after punch, but her fists only ever hit air. Realizing that she needed a new approach, she started mixing it up with kicks, sweeps, and jump attacks and even attempted to grab the woman, but every time she somehow missed her target completely.

Finally, the woman retaliated by grabbing Asuka's wrist and twisting it in such a way that she flipped behind her back. Groaning in frustration, Asuka rose back to her feet and threw out her White Heron dance, but the nameless individual clearly predicted this as she low parried her and sent her back to the ground as quickly as she got up. She then sighed and shook her head.

"Why do you fight it? Why do you fight against the inevitable? Fate has brought you to me, and thus your next destination is the afterlife!"

Asuka gritted her teeth as she got up again, ignoring the pain, "Not if I can help it!"

The Osakan lunged at the woman, attempting a demon slayer, but was blocked by her and countered with the exact same attack. As Asuka flew into the air, the purple clad being grabbed her leg and whipped her down the street with inhuman strength. Before she could even register what happened, another spike appeared out of the ground and once again threw her into the air before Asuka finally landed painfully right beside Lili. She coughed up blood and lifted her head slightly to see the woman once again walking towards her. Before she could even try to somehow find the strength to get up again, the woman's slime covered foot pinned her to the ground.

"Enough. This is over. Allow me to alleviate you of your suffering."

Asuka turned her head towards her best friend. She grabbed the unconscious girl's hand as a tear escaped her eye.

"I'm sorry Lili...forgive me..."


	7. Emotions

**A/N:** Man, I've been so busy but I finally forced myself to make time for this chapter. This chapter mainly focuses on the conclusion of Asuka and Lili's encounter with Unknown as well as Jin's real reason for not wanting to see Jun. Review as always :)

* * *

"_Asuka."_

"_...dad?"_

"_You've grown so much. I am so proud of you."_

"_I tried to save her...I had to. I'm sorry...for leaving you."_

"_I will see you again. There is no need to...hey, stop!" _

"_Dad?"_

"_I said stop!"_

"_Dad!"_

"_Get away from her!"_

"_Don't hurt him!"_

"_Alisa! Now!"_

"_...huh?"_

At that moment, Asuka's eyes opened. The mysterious woman's slime covered foot was no longer holding her down, but she still felt extremely exhausted. To her relief, Lili was beginning to stir beside her. Asuka weakly pushed her awake.

"Hey..."

Lili's eyes opened slowly, "Ugh...what? Oh...hey. Where's that hideous woman?"

Asuka propped herself on her elbows and looked at the scene in front of her, "I think those two might have something to do with the fact that we're still breathing."

Not far away from the two girls, Lars Alexandersson and Alisa Bosconovitch were engaged in a fierce battle with the nameless woman. It appeared as though they were winning, but the woman still had that annoying smirk plastered on her face regardless.

A weak smile formed on Lili's bruised face, "Ah yes, I know those two. I lent them an SUV last year."

Asuka rolled her eyes, "Random...but yeah I met them too last year while managing my dad's dojo. I thought they were annoying at the time, but I guess we owe them now, don't we?"

Lili's smile faded, "Yes...we do."

Asuka looked over at her friend and smiled warmly at her, "I'm really glad you're okay, Lili."

If Lili had a snarky comment about the Osakan's uncharacteristically genuine words, she kept it to herself for the moment. Instead, she just fell onto her back again, completely exhausted.

"Me too."

* * *

"Alisa! Rockets!"

"Hai!"

Taking a moment to aim properly, the pink-haired android fired her arms directly at the purple clad woman. To her dismay, she managed to jump out of the way in the nick of time, but the resulting blast succeeded in stunning her.

Noticing this, Lars took no time in taking advantage of her disoriented state. He enveloped himself in red electricity and charged at her with blinding speed. Rearing back his arm, he let out a fierce shout and connected his Zeus uppercut with the woman's jaw. She was sent flying into the air and for the first time a scream of pain escaped from her lips. She then landed painfully on her skull before crumpling face down on the ground. After a few seconds of squirming, she became motionless.

After taking a couple moments to make sure the woman was really finished, Lars and Alisa made their way back towards the two girls. Lars knelt down in front of them while Alisa stood in the back patiently.

"You two are alright?"

Asuka and Lili managed to sit up, "Yeah. We're fine. Thanks for saving us from that freak."

Lars nodded, "Of course. My name is Lars and this is Alisa."

He helped both of the girls back to their feet, but they still looked to be in pretty bad condition. Noticing this, Lars pulled out his cell phone and turned away from the girls for a moment.

"I need you to send an escort for Ms. Rochefort and Ms. Kazama and assist them in making it safely back to the hotel."

Asuka gritted her teeth at the phone conversation Lars was having in front of them. She might have felt weak enough to fall at any moment, but she was a Kazama. She prided herself on being able to get herself out of any harrowing situation she might find herself in. She clenched her fists, ready to give Lars a piece of her mind.

"I believe it would be in your best interest to be escorted, Ms. Kazama."

Somewhat surprised, Asuka shifted her gaze to the pink-haired girl, having heard her unnaturally sweet voice for the first time. Alisa's expression, or even her posture, hadn't changed the slightest bit since she and Lars had helped them up.

"I don't need you to tell me what my best interest is. Thanks for the help, but we're leaving now. C'mon, Lili."

Asuka grabbed her friend by the wrist and started dragging her away, having suddenly regained enough energy to haul both of their beaten bodies back to the hotel herself.

Lars sighed and shook his head, "Alisa, follow them. From a distance."

Alisa simply nodded before walking after them silently.

Lars turned back towards the unconscious woman a few feet away. He was surprised at the sight; the strange substance covering her body had dissipated and was replaced by a raven-adorned jumpsuit. The woman before him now had a rather peaceful expression on her sleeping face. Lars had seen this woman before during the tournament, but had never really spoken to her. As he was contemplating what to do with her, Lars's unit decided to arrive and start barricading the area. One of his commanding officers soon made their way towards him.

"Sir!"

Lars kept his gaze on the woman but addressed his comrade, "Are the police officers safe?"

The man nodded, "Yes. They are in critical condition, but their injuries are all surprisingly not life-threatening. Just broken limbs and such; no internal damage. As far as we know, other than those two girls no other civilians were harmed."

Lars finally decided to turn towards the man, "That's good to hear. Tell the local police department that we will take responsibility for what happened and clean up this mess. We can't let this situation get to out of hand."

The man saluted Lars, "Right away, sir. If I may, what would you like us to do with the woman? Should she be apprehended?"

Lars turned back towards the woman. She was still unconscious, but was now being slowly surrounded and examined by the rest of his unit.

"Leave her. I recognize her from the tournament. I will take her back to the infirmary of the arena."

His commanding officer's eyes widened, "But sir...she tried to kill innocent people. I really think we should-"

"That was someone completely different. The one on the ground over there is not the same person I battled a moment ago. I believe I may be able to find out some interesting things from her if I speak with her myself."

His comrade sighed, "If you say so."

Lars let out a slight laugh, "Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen."

* * *

"She didn't have much to say to me."

Jin's expression remained neutral, "That's not surprising. When I was young, she would always be herself when it was just the two of us. However, on the few times we did go out in public she became withdrawn, never showing her true emotions."

Nina rolled her eyes, "Another trait you share."

Jin turned towards the blonde and slightly shook his head, "On the contrary, Nina. I choose not to express emotion because I have no need to anymore. It also helps me control the devil gene. My mother, however, didn't have a choice. She never has."

Nina raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean? Jin, look; I know I'm not the best example here but everyone is capable of expressing emotion. It's what separates us from machines. They get in the way sometimes but they do help define you."

As usual, Jin walked away from Nina and gazed out the window, "Perhaps you're right. Perhaps my mother was capable of expressing emotions normally at one point in her life, but all that changed after something, or someone, entered her life."

Nina wasn't fazed by how Jin's expression turned rather dark. She knew very well who he was referring to.

"So that's why she's withdrawn all the time? She's unable to trust anyone now because of Kazuya?"

Jin sighed, "Basically."

"Even now? After all these years?"

He furrowed his brow slightly, "I'm not sure. Ever since I saw her on that monitor back at the Mishima Zaibatsu I've been asking myself if there is more to it. I would like to find out what she has been up to and what happened to her, but I can't bring myself to speak to her."

Jin's expressionless wall finally crumbled for the first time in a long while. His eyes were downcast towards the floor and his shoulders slumped a bit. Taking a moment, Nina put two and two together.

"You're afraid, aren't you?"

Jin didn't turn to face her, "My memories of my mother are the best I have. In fact, they're probably some of the only good memories I have. Everything else in my life that I thought was good at the time has been tainted by now due to my bloodline, but the days I spent growing up with my mother never will be. That is why I can't bring myself to confront her. I have an image of a woman that is strong and independent, but also compassionate in my mind. The woman that I see now clearly lacks the latter, and I'll be damned if I let the one pure memory I have left be tarnished as well."

Nina watched him for a moment. Over the last two years, she had been able to recover very small snippets of her own father, mostly due to her confrontations with Anna inducing flashbacks. She knew however that no matter how much she wanted it, she would never be able to truly remember her father for everything that he was. The feeling saddened her, although she would never admit it to anyone.

"You need to talk to her."

Jin finally met Nina's eyes once more, "In time maybe. For right now however, this is too sudden."

Nina shook her head, "It doesn't matter, Jin. If you don't see her before its too late then you'll regret it. You can tell yourself you're happy with the memories you have, but eventually you'll start wishing you had just taken the chance to hear her voice one more time. I feel that way about my own father sometimes. And you better believe I'm being serious because I don't tell anyone that. Ever."

Jin allowed Nina a small grin, "I guess you're right about that."

"Damn right I am."

* * *

Lars's unit had surprisingly succeeded in calming the public, deflecting questions and cleaning up the whole mess in only a few hours. He had since ordered most of his troops to go back and guard the hotel and arena, although he also ordered a few to remain in the downtown district in order to reassure civilians.

As for himself, he was currently carrying the still unconscious woman in his arms as he made his way back to reconvene with Alisa. She was still as peaceful as ever; she hadn't even twitched when Lars had picked her up. As he walked with her, Lars couldn't help but wonder who she was.

_Her face does resemble Jin's, but there's got to be more to her than that. That...thing me and Alisa fought a while ago obviously wasn't the same as the woman in my arms. Maybe she too is connected to the devil gene...is that the reason why both Kazuya and Heihachi are playing nice for the moment? If so, I need to think of a way to keep things from getting too out of hand, at least until the tournament is over. No more innocent people can be harmed._

Lars took a moment to lie Jun down on a nearby bench in order to call Alisa.

"Alisa, I'm bringing the woman back to the infirmary of the arena. I assure you it is not dangerous; she is a contestant in the tournament."

"_Hai. Asuka and Lili have made it back safely, although Asuka soon discovered my presence and scolded me..." _

Lars chuckled, "As long as they're safe. I'm sure she'll forgive you."

As he hung up his phone, he noticed that the woman beside him finally appeared to be stirring on the bench. Before long, her eyes were opening slowly.

"Where am I?"


	8. A Real Conversation

**A/N:** Another short chapter for you guys because I still felt like writing for a bit. Enjoy and review :)

* * *

Jun sat up on the bench and looked at the man next to her. He took a moment to smile at her, but she chose not to return the gesture.

"We're about halfway back to the infirmary. You are injured, so I chose to bring you back myself. My name is Lars by the way."

Lars extended his hand towards her, but Jun simply got up and started walking away from him.

"I was just trying to-"

Jun turned towards him, "I appreciate your help, but I will be able to handle myself from here onward. I will see you in the tournament, Lars."

Lars stood up abruptly, "Could I at least know your name?"

Jun contemplated just leaving anyway, but she realized that this man could have possibly saved her from making a few bad decisions not too long ago. She couldn't remember anything, but she had a feeling that whatever transpired was not something that could be forgiven easily.

And yet despite all of that, Lars had taken it upon himself to bring her to safety anyway.

"My name is Jun. Thank you for bringing me here, but I assure you I'm alright now. I don't need to go to the infirmary."

Lars nodded, "Well then you're going back to the hotel right? I too am headed that way, allow me to accompany you."

Jun sighed and began walking away from him again, "Very well."

Catching up with her, Lars attempted to make light conversation with Jun. He needed to try and find out as much as he could from her before they got back to the hotel.

"So what's your reason for entering this year's tournament, Jun?"

Jun was tracing her thumb along the faint shade of purple that stained her shirt, "I was bored."

Lars smirked. He expected an answer like that. This woman clearly liked her privacy, and who was he to try and interrogate her right now? He decided to let it go. Instead he chuckled as they walked.

"I see. It must be nice to be bored and looking for something to fill up your time. My job doesn't allow me to ever have free time."

Jun glanced up at him and then took note of his attire for the first time. It seemed to look like a variation of the standard outfits that some of the Mishima Zaibatsu guards wore around the hotel and arena. She shook her head lightly and sighed.

"You're part of the Tekken Force, aren't you?"

"Not quite. I lead a branch of military that conducts its own separate operations than those of the Tekken Force. In fact, I was fiercely against them last year, but things are a bit different now."

Lars knew that he shouldn't have been telling Jun this much, but he figured the more he explained to her about private matters, the more she'd be willing to do the same.

Jun met his gaze again, "You mean to say you're siding with Jin now?"

Lars narrowed his eyes in suspicion for a moment, but soon composed himself. Something about the way Jun said Jin's name felt different than the way she had been speaking before. She almost sounded a bit sad or regretful. Almost as if she felt guilty...

_Are they related?_

He let it go for the moment and answered her.

"That's correct. Jin has recently begun cleaning up the mess that he started last year, and has asked me and my unit for help. So far we have been doing a good job with it, but I still prefer being considered separate from Jin's unit. No amount of restoration will make up for what he put the world through last year."

Jun sighed, "Yes. He really did throw the world into chaos, didn't he..."

Lars nodded, "Yeah, but for what it's worth he's not doing this to seem good to the people again. I think he realizes they will never forgive him, and he's not asking them to. I guess we'll never know what his real reason was for doing what he did."

In truth, Lars knew very well what Jin's true motives were. It was to fill the world with enough negative energy so that Azazel would be released and he could quell his devil gene by destroying both the monster and himself. The plan of course hadn't worked, as Jin was still alive and still bore the devil gene despite destroying Azazel. There was no reason to let Jun know about this yet however, not until his suspicions about her were confirmed.

Jun sighed again, "I guess not. But even so, I can't help but let some of the blame fall on my shoulders as well."

Lars raised an eyebrow in suspicion, "Why would it be your fault?"

Jun simply looked away from him as the hotel came into view, "Thank you for accompanying me back to the hotel, Lars. I have not had real conversation in some time."

With that, Jun walked back inside the hotel by herself. Lars watched her go for a moment before pulling out his phone.

"Alisa, we're going to need to speak to Jin about something very important tomorrow before the matches start."

"_We should be able to. His personnel should not resist our attempts to meet with him. But why?"_

"I think I've located his mother."

* * *

Asuka and Lili meanwhile had made it to the infirmary of the arena and had been tended to. Despite how exhausted they were and how late it now was, neither had been able to fall asleep. A few beds down from theirs, 2 girls were sound asleep. One was actually in a bed, while the other had instead pulled up a chair and was simply resting her head on it.

Asuka pointed at the girl in the bed, "That must be the one who got sent here yesterday."

Lili nodded, "Most definitely. I wonder what actually happened in that match."

"Well, it probably had nothing to do with what we've just been through. She's probably just resting now. I mean it is like 2am..."

A frown made its way to Lili's face, "Which is why I can't even begin to fathom why I can't fall asleep. I need to be in top shape for our next match!"

Asuka gaped at her, "What? I think it's pretty clear we're not going to able to keep going in this thing. I know I insisted on walking all the way back here by myself, but I kind of wanted to collapse after only a couple steps..."

Lili hung her head, "You're right. We will have to forfeit tomorrow. I just don't want to go back home yet; it's unbearably boring there..."

Asuka grinned, "Who said you had to go home already? If you do, you won't be able to ask Steve out."

Lili facepalmed, "Please, Asuka. I would never be caught dead making the first move."

The Osakan furrowed her brow, "Why not? I mean if you like him, you should ask him out!"

The blonde's hand didn't leave her face as she began to shake her head in disappointment, "I am truly amazed at how little you know about femininity sometimes. A woman never makes the first move when they like develop an interest in someone. Our job is to simply make it known that we are interested and have him do the rest, and if he doesn't do anything about it than it was not meant to be. And let me tell you, it would be his loss."

Asuka gave her friend a pitying look.

"You're going to die alone, Lili."

* * *

Jun had finally made it back to her room. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, but a different emotion was currently in control.

Sadness.

As she was finally alone, at long last Jun let down her walls and cried.

The one thing that she always wanted more than anything else was a peaceful existence with a family that she could love and call her own. Even after 20 years, Jun never let go of that goal; she was determined to achieve the happiness that she, Jin and Kazuya deserved.

But every day it was becoming harder to see a happy ending at the conclusion of all of this. The conversation she just had with Lars was the longest she had spoken to anyone other than the monster inside of her for a very long time, but even then she found it extremely difficult to actually be in his presence. And this was how she felt towards a man who had taken care of her despite the trouble she had no doubt caused.

No matter how much she was in denial, Jun knew that she had become a cold-hearted person. The girl she once was no longer lived inside of her, and now she was just a shell of the compassionate person that she strove to be all those years ago.

She truly did want a family again, but she was beginning to realize that perhaps she didn't deserve one at this point. Perhaps she really was meant to die alone...

"_Mom?"_

"_Yes, Jin?"_

"_How come I don't have a dad?"_

"_What?"_

"_Well, every time we go into town I see kids like me who have both moms and dads. Where's my dad?"_

"_Your father is a very special person Jin, but he has a few problems of his own that he needs to deal with before we can see him again."_

"_Do you ever miss him?"_

"_...yes. Sometimes I miss him very much."_

"_Then why don't you ever go and see him?"_

_"..."  
_

_"Mom?"  
_

"_It's getting late. You should be in bed already, Jin."_

"Maybe it wasn't Heihachi's fault...maybe it was mine."

Jun wiped her tears and walked towards her bedroom window. She placed her hand on it gently and closed her eyes.

"I've messed up so many times...I've waited so long...maybe there isn't any time left. If you truly don't want to see me again, I understand. But please, let me speak to you at least once."

She removed her hand from the window and placed it over her heart.

"I know I can never be the same as you remember, but no mother truly stops loving their child. And I need you to know that I still love you, Jin. And that I'm sorry..."

Jun opened her eyes. Her cheeks were tarnished with dried tears.

"Once you know that...I think I will be able to die happily."


	9. Reconnecting

**A/N:** Hey all! So schools getting busier with midterms coming up so I might not be posting for a while after this but I'll try! Also, this chapter alludes to a couple things: Miharu and Lili's ending in TTT2, and Jun's ending in T2. If you haven't seen these endings, just search em up on youtube. Lili's TTT2 ending is pretty funny too so why not?

* * *

"So you're going to find him then?"

"I have to. I have to warn him about his mother. I don't think he knows yet, Miharu."

Asuka opened her eyes at the sound of the two girls from the night before chatting away. In the bed next to her was Lili, still sound asleep. She rubbed her eyes briefly and sat up, ignoring the pain from the injuries she had sustained yesterday.

"You must be the girl who was sent here by that fighter with no name that everyone is talking about."

The two girls looked over at Asuka, slightly surprised. After a moment, the one in the bed nodded solemnly.

"Yeah...I'm Miharu. And this is Xiaoyu."

Asuka scratched the back of her head awkwardly, "Well...sorry that happened to you. I'm Asuka. The girl next to me was my tag partner Lili, but we-"

Xiao interrupted her mid sentence, "Wait I remember now! You guys are the ones who paid us to be extras at the amusement park that one time! Remember when you were fighting in the street?"

Miharu grinned, "Oh yeah! That money helped me and Xiao pay off some serious debts."

"Debts? We practically spent all of it later that day at the mall!"

"Shh! It sounds way better my way!"

Asuka raised her hand to get their attention, "Was kind of in the middle of talking here. Oh and for the record, I wasn't acting that day. I was legitimately pissed and- wait a minute, you actually got paid?! I thought that was just some stupid gimmick to get people in on it!"

Xiao and Miharu merely shrugged.

She grunted in frustration, "Fantastic. Well anyway, what I was going to say was that Lili and I weren't actually eliminated. We...ran into some trouble last night and we're just not in good enough shape to keep going."

Xiaoyu sat up straighter, "Really? What happened? We heard a lot commotion last night but it was silent again like five minutes later."

"We were attacked by some woman who was covered in some absolutely filthy gunk."

Everyone looked at Lili, who had finally woken up but was still lying down.

Miharu's eyes widened, "Gunk? Was she like...a hobo?"

Xiaoyu busted out into a fit of giggles. Asuka rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Obviously not, she just...okay this is going to sound crazy, but she didn't look very human. She wasn't wearing anything, but was covered almost completely in some purple slime stuff. And when she spoke it sounded like two different people were trying to speak over one another."

Lili cringed, "Not to mention she had these really creepy yellow eyes..."

Xiaoyu's face turned serious, "Wait a minute, did you say yellow eyes? That sounds like..."

_"Your partner has been defeated. You have lost."_

She turned to Miharu, "That's her! That's Jin's mom! I'm sure it is!"

The three other girls gaped at Xiao, "What?"

Xiaoyu stood up and started pacing the room, "Think about it. Miharu, our match was against a woman named 'Unknown'. She probably didn't want her real name to be known in case Jin went crazy or something. Or maybe she didn't want to be known by her real name because she was ashamed of something..."

She then pointed to Asuka and Lili, "And then you guys said you fought against a woman with no name last night. And you mentioned that she had glowing yellow eyes and a weird voice!"

Miharu scratched her head, "...Xiao, no offense but I don't see how this all connects."

Xiao grabbed her arm dramatically, "During our match, after this woman took you out she came after me. She went to break my arm, and she would have succeeded too, but something happened to her. It was like she had a change of heart or something. But I'll never forget that face. She looked so...evil, and she had the same glowing yellow eyes and strange voice like you guys mentioned!"

Lili finally sat up, groaning in pain as she did so, "But why does it have to be Jin Kazama's mother? That's the part I don't get..."

Asuka's eyes widened in realization, "Because of her fighting style!"

Xiao through her fist in the air triumphantly, "Exactly!"

Asuka turned towards her friend, "Lili, do you remember the first time we saw that woman fight? I told you that the way she fought reminded me of my own style. I've been thinking about the connection between that woman and the one from last night since we got to the infirmary, because the woman from last night used the same style to fight me!"

Xiao nodded, "It all makes sense. That woman is Jin's mother...Jun Kazama..."

Lili's eyes widened in horror, "But Asuka...that means she's your..."

The Osakan clenched her hair in revulsion, "Oh god! I'm related to that freak!"

Xiao looked completely shocked, "You're a Kazama?"

Asuka nodded, "On my dad's side, yeah. Jun is also the name of my dad's sister, but I hadn't actually met her until I guess a few nights ago. And I was told that Jin is my cousin, which would make Jun my aunt."

Miharu slumped down back under her covers, "This is too much to process."

Xiaoyu sat down beside her friend on her bed, "I guess it's obvious what we have to do now then."

Everyone looked confused. She threw her hands up in frustration.

"We have to find Jin and tell him what we know! I heard on the tournament announcements this morning that he's here, but he probably doesn't know that Jun is. And even if he does know, he definitely doesn't know about her little...problem."

Asuka furrowed her brow, "But why do we have to tell him ourselves? I don't even want to talk to him; he kinda sucks."

Xiao held her hand up, "Let me stop you right there. First of all, Jin doesn't 'suck', okay? He just has really big family issues. Secondly, Jin would never believe just any random person if they told him his mom turned into that thing last night, but he would believe us because you're family and I'm in..."

Everyone looked at Xiao expectantly as she trailed off and looked down at the bed covers.

It was awkward.

"...I would never lie to him!"

Miharu smirked, "Nice cover, Xiao."

Her friend stood up dramatically and threw her hands on her hips, "Not the point! The point is that we need to warn Jin about this so he's ready to face Jun when he finally sees her. Then maybe he'll see that there are still some good things left in his life and he'll stop doing all these bad things all over the world."

Asuka contemplated Xiaoyu's proposal for a moment. On the one hand, she was definitely not feeling 100% at the moment, and she would rather rest up a lot more before even considering this. On the other hand however, she always did stand for bringing justice to those who deserved it, and Jin deserved it more than anyone. Not to mention if she played her cards right she wouldn't have to fight anyway.

She nodded as she began to get out of her bed, "Alright, fine. I'm in."

Xiao grinned widely, "Great! I have a good feeling about this."

"What about us?"

Asuka shook her head, "Lili, you definitely got it worse than I did yesterday. I would rest up a bit more, at least for a little while. As for Miharu, sounds like you're pretty much in the same boat."

Miharu clutched her side in pain, "You got that right."

Asuka scratched the back of her head, "So uh, where to first, Xiao?"

* * *

Lars and Alisa were currently in the elevator of the hotel, making their way towards the top floor.

"So, my suspicions were correct after all."

Alisa nodded, "Yes. Jun Kazama is in fact Jin's mother. I did research last night through the Mishima Zaibatsu database after your call. Though there is not much information, tournament records say she was a participant in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2, back when Kazuya was still the head of the organization."

Lars sighed, "So that's how they met..."

"It would appear that way."

"I wonder how she feels about him now, knowing how much of a terrible father he is."

At this, Alisa said nothing. Although she understood companionship, she still had a difficult time understanding emotions that she was not primarily programmed with such as love. When she asked her father why she couldn't decipher a concise description of love, he had told her that it was because such a definition simply doesn't exist and that she would know what it was once she found it. Ever since being rebooted by Lee Chaolan, Alisa often spent her free time trying to decipher the extremely complicated coding labelled "love" that had been place inside her emotion interface by her father, but hadn't made much progress as of yet.

"For that matter, I wonder how Jun feels towards my own father. Now that I think about it, he probably looks the exact same as she remembers from the second tournament."

At last, the elevator door opened. This floor only had a single hallway with one room all the way at the end, which belonged to the current head of the Mishima Zaibatsu. The hallway itself however was littered with guards, all of whom simply nodded their head at the two as they made their way towards Jin's room.

As they walked, Alisa looked up at Lars, "How is it that Heihachi was able to rejuvenate his physical appearance? I didn't know humans were capable of such an ability.

"Normally they aren't, but Heihachi seems to always beat the odds. I would expect no less from the man who was seemingly unaffected by a huge explosion a couple years ago."

Before the pair made it to the door, it opened and revealed Jin and Nina who were just leaving. Jin was wearing his trademark karate pants and gloves, while Nina was wearing her purple camouflage outfit. The two stopped to acknowledge Lars and Alisa.

Jin spoke first, "I'm sorry you two, but our meeting will have to be rescheduled. Nina and I need to train for our upcoming match."

Lars furrowed his brow, "There are no matches today due to the commotion last night. Why are you preparing already?"

Nina smirked, "Clearly you didn't see who we were up against. We'll talk to you guys later."

With that Jin and Nina walked into the elevator and left Lars and Alisa standing in the hallway.

Lars shook his head, "Damn. Alisa, can you see who they are up against tomorrow?"

Alisa nodded, "Hai. Jin Kazama and Nina Williams will be facing...oh."

"What is it?"

"They will be facing Heihachi Mishima."

* * *

Jun woke up that morning feeling more determined than ever. Her calm demeanor and unwavering resolve had returned after last night, and she felt more in control of her own actions than she ever had before. She already knew that matches would be cancelled today, but that didn't deter her. Starting today, she was no longer going to hide from the truth.

She made her way towards the reception desk in the lobby of the hotel. As always, the receptionist greeted her with a smile.

"How can I help you, miss?"

"I would like to change the name that I am registered under for the tournament."

The receptionist nodded, "Of course. Just one moment...ah, it says here that you are currently registered under the alias, 'Unknown'. What would you like to change it to?"

"Jun Kazama."

The receptionist typed for a moment before smiling up at Jun again, "Done."

Jun quirked her eyebrow a tiny bit, "You are not surprised?"

The receptionist shook her head, "Nope. A contestant is a contestant. Your relation to Jin is not any of my concern. I'm not paid enough for it to be either."

For the first time in a very long time, Jun genuinely smiled, "I appreciate that."

"Best of luck to you, Jun."

"Thank you."

After leaving the hotel, Jun decided to go for another walk, except this time she knew exactly where she was headed.

Before her encounter with the Devil, Jun's ability to perceive the inner turmoil and suffering of some people allowed her to become a stark contrast to almost all forms of evil. But now, no matter how much she wanted to, Jun was becoming more and more immune to feeling compassionate. She was beginning to understand how Kazuya now saw the world, and it terrified her. The man he was now would be so much more difficult to reason with, and Jin was becoming the same way. The only way she would possibly have a chance of saving both of them would be to reconnect with her former self first.

And so, Jun made her way towards a wildlife reserve not far from the hotel.

The first few steps were the hardest. Despite being in solitude for most of the last 20 years, for some reason this time it felt different. Maybe it was because ever since the devil had tainted her, Jun had fallen into disharmony with the beautiful creatures around her. All she had been concerned about was her own selfish needs and desires.

She felt ashamed of herself.

The more she walked however, the more she realized that most animals had a hard time holding grudges. A squirrel had found its way to Jun's foot and started to nibble at it. She bent down and extended her arm. The squirrel simply looked at it for a couple moments in confusion.

_Please..._

Seemingly impressed by Jun's proposal, the squirrel began crawling its way up her arm until it was sitting contently on her shoulder. She smiled at it.

"Thank you."

As she walked with her little friend, more animals started to appear. Birds came to rest on the branches above her and chirped loudly, and even a couple small deer trailed behind her.

For the first time in over 20 years, Jun felt happiness. She came to a hill overlooking the rest of the reserve and decided to rest. When she sat down, all of the animals that had been following her did the same. She couldn't help but smile.

"I think I needed this. No...I know I needed this."

The squirrel hopped down from her shoulder and fell into her lap. Jun cradled it in her hands.

"I'm sorry for not being there for you for a while. And I'm honored that you would still be here for me. There are difficult times ahead, but now I know that I'm not alone."

One by one, the animals started to leave. The birds flew into the horizon, the deer walked back into the forest and the squirrel tilted its head to the side and gave her a look before running away. Jun stood up and took one last look over the rest of the wildlife reserve.

Then, without another word, she headed back to the hotel.


	10. Too Soon

**A/N: **Review review review! Yes, things are going incredibly slow I know...I'm aware of this but there are a lot of aspects of this story that I'm trying to tie in so it will take a while. It'll be worth it though, I promise!

* * *

Jun had spent the remainder of her day training in solitude before her next match tomorrow. She didn't know who she would be facing, nor did she care. Now that she had been reacquainted with her former self, she felt as if nothing would be able to truly stop her from her goal. She was always taught that overconfidence was not an asset, but at this point she didn't care. Jun would have to leave no room for doubt if she wanted to complete what she now perceived as her purpose in life. She walked down to the lobby of the arena and stood silently with all the other contestants to await the matchup draws for today. As usual, Jun ignored the looks that she was being given by most of the fighters, but made sure to silently acknowledge Lars with a slight nod which he returned. What she didn't notice was the intense glare she was receiving from another Kazama from across the room.

Asuka's knuckles were turning white from being clenched so hard, "I can't believe she's right there! There's nothing I want more than to just pound her into the ground until she's mush."

Xiao put her hand on Asuka's shoulder, "You can't. We can't interact with her until we talk to Jin, otherwise it might ruin everything. Besides, she'd probably beat you again..."

Asuka relaxed her hand, "...whatever. Speaking of my shit-for-brains cousin, here he comes."

Indeed, Jin and Nina had entered the arena just then, both looking prepared to fight. As soon as he had entered, the entire room went completely quiet. Jin's face was as passive as ever, and he too was ignoring the many evil glares he was receiving from pretty much everyone there. In fact, the only ones who weren't glaring at him were Xiao, Nina, Lars and Alisa. He paused for a moment as his eyes fell on his mother's back, but instead of approaching her, Jin crossed his arms and waited with the others. It was amazing how calm the atmosphere was given the circumstances and the fact that most of the others were incredibly irked that Jin still drew breath.

Jun meanwhile, had not noticed her son yet. She currently had her eyes closed and was clearing her thoughts before her match, as she could not let the monster inside her take control again. A couple years ago, she had lost her ability to sense dark presences, probably because her own aura had been tainted as well. One of her main priorities now was being able to reconnect with that ability, as Jun knew that it would be vital in saving her family. She was so focused that she hadn't even noticed how quiet the room had become despite the number of fighters still in the tournament.

That is until her thoughts were broken due to an all too familiar voice.

"Well well well, if it isn't my pathetic excuse for a grandson!"

Jun immediately turned around at the sound of the voice. She could hardly believe what she saw.

There he was. Jin had been standing directly behind her this entire time, but didn't even seemed fazed by her presence and had neglected to approach her. Despite the fact that she completely understood why, Jun couldn't help but feel hurt.

And then, after almost 8 years, Jun and Jin locked eyes.

The moment was surreal, to say the least. Jun felt annoyed at the fact that they had reunited here of all places, in front of everyone. It wasn't like she planned it out, but she was hoping to at least try and make it a more private matter. She obviously had a lot to discuss with her son, but this was certainly not the place to do so.

Jin's eyes were unreadable. Her son had definitely inherited her ability to shield her emotions, even the incredibly powerful one's that Jun assumed he was feeling at the moment. She suddenly felt guilty; perhaps he wasn't able to express emotion anymore, just like her...

"Looks like someone wasn't expecting to see mommy here."

Both Jun and Jin looked at the source of the voice from before. Heihachi Mishima stood a few feet away from them with a full head of black hair and a very large grin. It was clear to everyone that he was enjoying the awkwardness that everyone else was feeling in the room.

The only thing Jun felt however was anger. Not only had she just come face to face with her son in the flesh mere moments ago, but she had now also come face to face with the man who arguably ruined her entire life for the first time in over 20 years. If there was ever a time to put her ability to contain her emotions to the test, now would be it. Amazingly though, Jin didn't even uncross his arms, but he did turn towards his grandfather.

"On the contrary. I knew she was here the whole time."

Jun's eyes widened slightly in surprise at this news.

_And he didn't even care?_

Heihachi's hearty laugh escaped his lips as he pointed at Jun, "Hahahaha! Sounds like your son wants nothing to do with you now, Jun! Why even bother showing up? Hahahahahahaha!"

Jun shook her head but said nothing.

_This is not how I envisioned this happening..._

Jin too had said nothing, which concerned Jun because for all she knew Heihachi was right...perhaps there was no point to being here...

_No, I cannot think like that. Not anymore. Don't let his words get to you._

Finally, after yet another painfully awkward silence, Paul Phoenix of all people stepped in to diffuse the situation.

"Look enough of this! I didn't sign up for any of this crap; I just want to pummel someone already!"

Heihachi crossed his arms, "Hmph. I have arranged it so that there's only one match today. But don't worry; I'm very confident that it'll be enough to appease your excitement!"

At this, everyone erupted into yelling and arguing while Heihachi looked on with a smirk in his face. When his amusement was appeased, he held up his hand to get their attention back and went back to crossing his arms.

"That's right everyone. You see my grandson over there might think he runs this place, but there will always be only one true leader of the Mishima Zaibatsu. It didn't take much to convince the tournament officials to change my match up."

Jin quirked an eyebrow, "You were set to face me and Nina. Why would you change that? Are you afraid?"

Heihachi erupted into laughter, "Afraid? Hahahahahahaha! I am afraid of no man, especially not now with my renewed vigor. No...I changed my match because you stole the Zaibatsu from me, and I would rather have some fun watching you suffer before I easily take it back. And what better way to do that then by taking out your pathetic excuse for a mother!"

Everyone looked at Jun, but she didn't even flinch from Heihachi's declaration. Ever since he had entered the lobby, Jun had been finding it increasingly difficult not to lunge at him and tear him apart. She could feel the devil gene rising, but once again she found herself not caring. She knew this wasn't good, but if there was one thing she would never regret it would be taking this man's life.

Jun walked in front of Jin, "If it's a fight you want, then I would be more than happy to indulge you, Heihachi. I have been looking forward to this for a very long time."

The older man smirked at her, "I'm afraid I can't say the same, Jun. But I can't say I would have looked forward to it anyway; there isn't much to expect from the woman who was unable to even beat Kazuya and instead fell to his charms. It's almost embarrassing..."

Jun fought to keep her face passive, but her anger was beginning to take over, "I do not regret my actions all those years ago. My only regret that I will ever have is that I was not able to stop you, but things will be different now."

Heihachi looked back at her as he turned to leave, "Not only are you nowhere near the level of a Mishima, but your reasons for fighting will never be justified and are thus pointless. I will give you this time to say goodbye to your son! Hahahahahahaha!"

As he left, everyone else also began to disperse looking rather disgruntled at having to wait yet again to fight. Jun sighed and turned to look at Jin.

...but he wasn't there.

Nina walked up to her as she began looking around, "Said he wanted to be alone. But I'd go look for him if I were you."

Jun didn't say anything as she turned to exit the arena.

* * *

Alisa put her hand on her chin, "This concerns me."

Lars turned to her, "Yes, it concerns me as well. Heihachi was enough trouble without those enhancements, but now..."

His companion shook her head, "It is not that. I am concerned for Ms. Kazama and Jin. My father always said that the most important thing in life is family."

Lars looked down at his hand and clenched his fist, "Not when you're part of mine..."

* * *

Asuka slumped down on a bench in the lobby, "Well this sucks."

Xiao scratched the back of her head, "Yeah...there goes our plan. What are we supposed to do now?"

"What's the point? Jin obviously already knows about his mom being here. There isn't anything for us to even do now!"

"What if we talked to Jun instead?"

Asuka threw her hands up in front of her, "No way in hell! I'm not going anywhere near that freak again."

Xiao stood up abruptly, "Just hear me out! Jun obviously has the same goal that we do in wanting to save Jin and allow him to have a normal life. What if we proposed to help her out with that goal?"

"I don't think she wants help from anyone, Xiao. Besides she's got problems of her own."

"Well she's gotta have a lead on something! We can't just give up!"

Asuka rubbed her eyes in frustration, "Why is my family so messed up..."

* * *

Jun left the arena abruptly and headed towards the hotel. The receptionist greeted her with a smile as usual.

"Hello, Ms. Kazama. What can I do for you today?"

"I need to know where Jin went. It's important."

The receptionist shook her head, "I'm afraid Jin asked to be alone for a bit. He doesn't wish to speak with anyone right now so I can't allow you to see him. I'm sorry."

Jun sighed, "Very well."

She walked away from reception and headed towards the hotel elevator. She assumed Jin's room was on the top floor. She also assumed that there were tons of Tekken Force soldiers there, but she had no choice – she needed to speak with him now.

As the elevator door opened, a Tekken Force guard walked up to her, "Miss, I'm sorry but this area is off limits. If you could please – agh!"

Jun grabbed his arm and flipped him onto the ground. She then brought her heel down right on his sternum before looking up at the rest of the guards. They had their guns drawn and kept their distance. Jun took up her fighting stance and watched all of them carefully. She counted four.

Giving no time for hesitation, Jun lunged at the guards. She grabbed the closest one and twisted his wrist so that he would drop his gun. She then grabbed the back of his neck with her other hand and held him in front of her like a shield as she walked towards the remaining three soldiers. Soon enough they were backed against the wall and had no choice but to attack her. One of the guards drew his knife and charged at Jun, but she kicked the soldier she was holding into him instead, effectively stabbing him. She then grabbed the now incapacitated soldier's head and slammed it into the wall while throwing up her legs to kick the remaining two guns out of the other dumbfounded guards' hands. Before they could move to retrieve them, Jun grabbed both of the guards' arms and suspended herself between them in mid air. She then performed a split in mid air and kicked both of the remaining two guards in the face. They crumpled onto the ground silently with the others as Jun fell back to the ground. She took a moment to compose herself before turning the knob of the door. To her surprise, it was open.

Jin was looking out the window overlooking the city. It seemed to have become a habit he'd developed ever since becoming head of the Mishima Zaibatsu. Jun was silent at first, trying to find the right words, but then he spoke while still having his back to her.

"I already knew my subordinates wouldn't be any trouble for you, but I had to make sure."

"Of what?"

"That it really was you."

Jun sighed and looked at the ground, "Do you hate me, Jin?"

He turned to her then, but he still seemed to be lost in thought. Jun noticed that his eyes were rather distant.

"There are many things I hate. People say it is a strong word that shouldn't be overused, and I wholeheartedly agree with them. But there are very few people who understand _why_ I hate, because there are not many people who know you."

Again, Jin turned his back to his mother and resumed looking outside the window. Jun could feel the familiar pang of guilt rising within her, but she defiantly began to fight through it.

"I was trying to protect you, Jin. I had to let you believe I had died so that-"

Jin suddenly whipped around and glared at her, "You didn't need to do anything of the sort! You could have seeked me out! But you made me deal with my pain alone! What kind of mother does that?"

Jun felt tears pricking her eyes, "One who didn't know what else to do! Do you really think I wanted to just leave you alone?"

She ripped the scarf that hung around her neck and showed Jin her left bicep, "This is why I left! I too was cursed by the devil, and I lived everyday in fear that I might somehow infect you with darkness as well!"

Her son took a moment to look at the identical mark that Jun bore on her own arm and then cast his eyes towards the ground.

"When I was growing up with you, you always told me that no matter what challenges we might face you would always be there to help me through it all. You never once did anything to give me the slightest doubt in that declaration either."

Jin looked up at her then; his eyes seemed to be burning with hatred, "That's why I loved you, mother. When you left my life, I didn't know where to go and what to do. I was only fifteen, and I had no conception of how to move on. The only thing that I knew was that I needed to destroy the beast that stole you from me. But now? Now I find out that for almost 9 years you've been biding your time, without so much as a vague hint to the possibility of your existence. It's clear that you blame my grandfather for my suffering, but personally I think you've done more damage than he ever could."

Silent tears were now freely flowing down Jun's reddened cheeks as her son nonchalantly walked towards the phone on his desk. She couldn't bring herself to formulate words as he pressed the button and waited for a response from the other line.

"Sir?"

"Please send up at least seven Tekken Force soldiers to escort my mother out of the building. Caution is recommended; she likely won't go easily."

Jun hadn't said anything as Jin began to walk towards another room in his suite. He turned his head slightly to acknowledge her one last time.

"To answer your question, I don't hate you and I never will. But I will _always _hate what you did to me."

With that, Jin walked into the adjoining room and closed the door. Jun just stood still and cried as Tekken Force soldiers surrounded her. She didn't have it in her to even put up a fight.

* * *

**A/N:** Next up: Jun vs. Heihachi!


	11. Stage 4: Heihachi Mishima

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait! Exams, work, writer's block...you know how it is. Anyhow, hiatus is now over as I think I know where I want to take this story from here on out! I'd say we're about halfway done, so stick with me and don't forget to review!

* * *

"That was some of my closest friends you manhandled out there in the hallway. If you even think about trying anything funny, I won't hesitate to put a bullet through your skull."

Jun paid no mind to the shallow threat that the Tekken Force officer had given her. She was currently walking back to the lobby of the hotel, accompanied by said officers who all had their guns pointed directly on her back. She didn't care; it wasn't like she had any reason to cause any more trouble anyway. She had failed to even remotely make peace with her son, as he instead accused her of something she already knew:

She was a bad mother.

Of course, knowing something and actually _hearing _it are two completely different things, and even though Jun thought her resolve would be able to help her through her confrontation with her son, the outcome had in fact been very different. She felt as though Jin had ripped her heart from her chest; what was arguably the only reason Jun still drew breath had suddenly disappeared from her reach. She was so close...so close to breaking free of the shackles that had been binding her for the better part of her adult life, but now...now it seemed as though her son truly wanted nothing to do with her, and she was now at a loss of what to do next.

Her thoughts were broken by a familiar voice.

"What's going on here?"

The leader of the officers escorting Jun saluted Lars, "Sir. This one forced her way into Jin's headquarters, and we are escorting her back to the lobby. We have strict orders to terminate her status as a participant in the tournament and send her back-"

"That won't be necessary."

"But sir! She-"

"She was going to see her son. I doubt you would hold it against her if you had children of your own comrade."

The Tekken Force officer started, "H-her son?!"

Lars crossed his arms and gave a stern look at Jun, "You may all go back to your posts. I will escort Ms. Kazama from here on out."

The Tekken Force officer sighed but nodded, "Yes, sir."

When they had left, Lars gave Jun a bit of a pitying look before walking away. Jun felt obligated to follow him.

"I knew it. I knew there was something off about you."

Jun said nothing, but sighed deeply as her shoulders slumped slightly.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to kick you out of the tournament, and I doubt Jin will follow through with his orders to do the same."

Jun shook her head, "There is one more thing I must do, then I will leave."

"You're just going to leave?" Jun thought she could sense the smallest hint of disappointment in Lars's voice.

"He wants nothing to do with me; I saw it in his eyes. I have no reason left to be here."

For a moment, the rebel leader pondered what exactly Jun meant by the word 'here'."

"He's lived a long time without you. Perhaps he simply needs a little more time to adjust." Lars sounded hopeful.

Jun turned to face him then. Lars was surprised to see light tears brimming on her eyelids, "What he needs, or rather _needed,_ is a mother who is there for him through thick and thin. I was a fool and a coward to leave him as I did. I thought I was making the right choice, but I see now, all too clearly, that Jin's hatred has consumed him. With no one but the devil inside him at his side for so long, it was impossible for his values to not be corrupted. To try and save him now would do more harm than good..."

The Swede crossed him arms and looked unimpressed, which was strange considering he was usually rather gracious, "You're wrong, and I think you know that you are. Not only that, but I think you also know how to solve this, but you're afraid to do so."

The Japanese woman let out a single, abrupt laugh, "You certainly know me very well, don't you Lars?"

"Do you know what my own mother used to say to me, Jun? She would tell me that whenever things get too tough or overwhelming, just take a step back and look at what you are trying to accomplish. When it comes down to it, the only thing that matters is what you're truly passionate about – that's what you should go for. Nothing else matters even half as much."

Jun sighed, "I don't see what this has to do with my current situation."

Lars just chuckled as he again started walking away from her. This time, Jun opted not to follow him as he called out to her.

"If you were truly passionate about saving your son, you would know what to do."

With that, the Rebel Commander disappeared down the hallway towards the main lobby of the arena.

Jun looked down at her hand and made a fist, "Living in denial...running away from the inevitable...is that how you see me, Lars?"

* * *

Xiaoyu and Asuka meanwhile had since returned to the infirmary and were trying to come up with a new plan to get to Jin.

"Grandpa Heihachi always has to complicate things!"

"Wait, that guy's your grandpa?!"

Xiao rubbed her hands on her face, clearly frustrated from once again being detoured from reaching Jin. She was beginning to feel as if they were simply fated to drift apart...as if their one measly year together was all he was able to afford her...

"No! You can't think like that!" she suddenly exclaimed.

Asuka threw her hands up in defense, "Easy, Xiao. I was just asking a question!"

Xiaoyu smiled sheepishly, "Oh, right. Um...no he's not my real grandfather. I just got used to calling him 'grandpa' because he took me in and everything when I first came to Japan. It's kind of a long story, actually..."

Lili sat up in her bed looking a bit disgruntled. It was probably because she wasn't receiving the same luxuries she usually would if she were to spend all day in a bed in her home in Monaco. Sebastian wasn't here, after all.

"Do you not miss your family, Xiaoyu? When was the last time you saw them?"

Xiaoyu rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, "It's been a couple years now. But...I can't say I miss them that much. They were always so pushy and bossy; they tried to control everything I did and always told me I was too careless. I guess I miss them, but I don't think I'll be paying them a visit anytime soon...why are you guys looking at me like that?"

Asuka glanced at Lili then back at Xiaoyu, "I guess we just don't get how you're so happy all the time. I know that if I was away from my dad for so long I'd probably be an emotional wreck."

Lili nodded, "I would likely feel the same; father may be a burden at times, but I love him all the same."

The Chinese girl just shrugged, "As bad as it sounds, I guess I never felt that strongly towards my own family. With the exception of my _real _grandpa Wang, I never had a strong connection to any of my real family. I think that's probably why Jin and I bonded so well at school. We both only really had ourselves to worry about. No one else really mattered to us."

"Geez," complained Miharu, "stick a knife in me why don't ya?"

Xiaoyu giggled, "Shut it, you know what I mean."

"Man," Asuka shook her head in disbelief, "We might be related, but I still can't believe Jin actually did relatively _normal_ things like go to school at one point in his life..."

Xiao sighed deeply, "That's because he _was _normal, once upon a time. But now..."

_**3 years ago: **_

"_Jin!"_

_Mishima Polytechnic had just let out for the day. Jin Kazama currently had his backpack slung over one shoulder and was headed back to Mishima Manor, where he resided with Ling Xiaoyu. As usual, the said girl, who also happened to be his only friend, had easily caught up with him as he left the school grounds._

"_Xiao."_

_The girl smiled up at him with her hands folded behind her, "What's up?" _

_Jin shrugged slightly, "Nothing. How was your day?"_

"_Oh, you know...boring as ever. Hey, guess what?!" _

_Jin merely quirked an eyebrow at her expectantly._

"_You know Panda right? Well Heihachi said that he was going to teach her how to fight! You know, so I'd have a bodyguard here and stuff. Pretty cool right?"_

"_I think that's unnecessary. I've seen you training before back at home; you seem perfectly capable of handling yourself." _

_Xiao beamed at him, "You really think so?" _

_Jin nodded and gave her a tiny smile._

"_Thanks, Jin."_

"_Hey, Xiao."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Would you like to spar when we get home? I need practice...and I also don't really want to do homework tonight." _

"_Of course I do! It's been forever since we last trained together. Think you can beat me?"_

_He grinned, "That isn't the point of sparring...but yes, I do." _

_Xiao smacked Jin's shoulder, "Hey! Arrogance gets you nowhere, tough guy. You're the one who told me that, remember?" _

"_Of course."_

"_Where'd you hear that anyway?"_

_Jin's smile faded, "It was something my mother used to tell me." _

_**Present:**_

"You guys lived together?!" Asuka looked like she was going to faint. Lili and Miharu just laughed.

Xiao nodded slowly, "Mhm. Probably one of the best years of my life, to be honest. Jin was so simple back then; he still kept to himself a lot, but he would still be willing to talk to people and at least try and act somewhat normal at the same time. He wasn't this power-hungry warlord who wreaks havoc across the globe and shuts out everyone he used to be close to from his life. He was just _Jin. _Just my best friend..."

By this point, Xiaoyu's happy demeanor had all but vanished and she now looked to be on the verge of tears.

"He was the only one I had for the longest time. That's why I have to get him back. I know you all think I'm just some love struck teenager, but I just..._I need him._"

Finally, the Chinese girl broke down and she began to cry silently. Instantly, Miharu moved beside her and held her. The two other girls exchanged silent glances briefly before Asuka stood up abruptly.

"Well then," the Osakan raised her fist in the air, "what are we waiting for, Xiao? Let's go talk some sense into my turd of a cousin! No use sitting around here, right?"

Xiaoyu looked up slowly at Asuka. Upon seeing the other girl's look of pure determination, her tearstained face broke out into a grin.

"Right!"

* * *

Jin sat at his desk with his face in his hands. Lately, he and the devil within him had become somewhat tolerable of each other, and so the devil rarely tried to take control of Jin's conscious if Jin did not will it himself.

Now however, was a different story.

For the first time in a while, Jin was trying to resist the devil's attempts to take control over him.

_**You did the right thing. You know this.**_

_Then tell me why it feels so wrong._

_**Perhaps because you refuse to let go of the compassion you hold for your mother, despite her utterly abandoning you. **_

_She bears your mark...she showed it to me._

_**What of it?**_

_It was you that caused her to leave me. You didn't even tell me that she still drew breath._

_**You didn't need to know. It would have only gotten in the way. **_

_If I had only known of her existence a year ago, none of this would have happened. There would have been no war, no suffering...no innocent lives lost..._

_**Precisely why I didn't tell you. **_

_I could have simply left on my own and seeked her out. We could have overcome the curse we now share together..._

_**I guess it's too bad she showed up so late.**_

"AAAGGHHHHH!"

Jin yelled out in frustration as he threw his fist into the wall beside him.

"Damn you, mother! Why now?! WHY HAVE YOU COME BACK NOW?!"

He collapsed to the ground and held his head as familiar looking markings covered his chest and face.

_**You know what you have to do.**_

Devil Jin looked up from the ground slowly as an evil smirk played on his lips, "Precisely."

* * *

Jun made her way down towards the arena. She didn't feel nervous or anxious about facing Heihachi; after all, she didn't see much reason to live anymore anyway, so she might as well take him down with her.

As she walked into the lobby, two girls immediately blocked her path. Jun recognized the one with pig tails as the girl who she almost lost control over, but couldn't recall seeing the other one. She looked at them expectantly instead of forcing her way past them.

"Jun Kazama, right? Jin's mom?"

Jun suddenly felt a strange aura coming from the other girl. It felt familiar; like a sense of kinship.

"Who are you?"

The girl with pigtails put her hands on her hips, "Ling Xiaoyu, and I've got a couple questions for you that I-"

"Not you," Jun looked towards the other girl, "You...are a Kazama?"

The other girl crossed her arms over her chest, "Don't recognize me? Maybe if I throw some purple shit on you it might jog your memory a bit."

Jun looked down at the ground, "I see..."

"It's Asuka. And apparently I'm your niece. But we'll sort all that out later. Right now we're looking for your annoying twit of a son. And don't even say you don't know where he is or how to reach him because we all know that's the only reason you're here."

Jun shook her head slowly, "You are too late. It's over. Now move."

It wasn't a question. After giving the two girls a moment to step out of her way, Jun simply shoved past them towards the arena. It wasn't that she wasn't curious about this new found relative, rather that she simply couldn't allow herself the luxury of getting close to her.

In her eyes, Jun had disgraced her family name and wanted nothing more than to rid herself of it.

Asuka clenched her fist, "We're not done talking here; don't you run away from us!"

Xiao put her hand on Asuka's arm, "She's not going to tell us anything. We're going to have to find a new way to get to Jin. Let's go watch Jun's match with Heihachi; something tells me everything isn't exactly going to play by the rules."

* * *

The announcer stood in the middle of the arena surrounded by the screaming fans as usual.

"Welcome back to the King of Iron Fist Tournament! We've got a special match lined up for all of you today! I am pleased to announce that despite the news of his death, our next fighter is alive a well! And not only that, but he's looking better than ever! Give it up for one of the toughest fighters ever known, and the creator of the original King of Iron Fist Tournament: Heihachi Mishima!"

The crowd roared with excitement as Heihachi smugly stepped out into the arena. He crossed his arms, knowing that this fight was easily going to be in his favour. He wasn't even the slightest bit worried about Jun, having already defeated her previously in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2.

Jun emerged shortly after to almost equal excitement from the crowd, no doubt due to the reputation that she had unwillingly brought upon herself from her previous matches. Heihachi smirked at her from across the arena with his arms still crossed. Jun felt her anger rising, but put zero effort into quelling it.

She simply didn't care about her morals when it came to Heihachi, and nothing in the world would make her see different.

"Let's get this over with, shall we, Jun?"

As usual, Jun said nothing, but even she could not keep the anger from showing on her face. Heihachi obviously noticed this, as he let out a single amused laugh.

"Not in the mood to talk? Very well; prepare yourself!"

The former head of the Mishima Zaibatsu's smug demeanor suddenly left his face and was replaced by a mix of fury, focus and determination. He began dashing towards Jun at a blinding pace, but the Kazama held her ground. She knew Mishima Fighting Karate well, after all she had fought Kazuya before.

Heihachi first went for his spinning demon, which Jun fortunately predicted right and blocked, leaving him off-balance. She then wasted no time in going for her demon slayer. The attack connected right with Heihachi's jaw, but something was off: Jun felt an equal amount of force hit her own face. She then realized that for the first time, her demon slayer had failed to lift her opponent off the ground. Instead, Heihachi had somehow managed to absorb the full force of the blow and shove he own foot in her face. A moment later Jun was sent flying halfway across the arena and landed painfully on her back. The crowd roared.

"You are going to have to try harder than that, Jun. Your attacks may be able to cause a great deal of pain to an ordinary man, but you now face a Mishima! Show some respect!"

Jun ignored him and got up slowly while rubbing her jaw, "You're arrogance is sickening, Heihachi."

The man crossed his arms again, "Hmph. Why don't you do something about it then."

Jun took a deep breath, "Very well."

Without further ado, the two fighters were at it again. This time, Jun was the one who went on the offensive. She ran full speed at Heihachi, then stopped short attempting to bait him out. For a moment, he was caught and threw out a careless jab, which Jun easily dodged. She then attempted to grab the Mishima's now vulnerable arm and force him to the ground.

Unfortunately, her elaborate plan of attack was halted, as yet again Heihachi broke free of Jun's grasp easily. The Kazama was not detoured by this however, and as the man went to bring down his foot upon Jun's skull, she dodged and grabbed his leg. Using all of her might, Jun twisted Heihachi's leg and finally succeeded in forcing him to the ground.

Wasting no time, Jun suddenly flung herself on top of Heihachi while he was still grounded and tried to bring her elbow down on his windpipe. To her dismay however, Heihachi caught her arm before it connected and managed to throw her off of him. He then got up quickly and charged at her again.

Expecting another spinning demon, Jun crouched down to block it. Her eyes widened when she realized, too late, that Heihachi's fist had started radiating electricity.

Despite her best efforts to dodge what she knew to be the fearsome Electric Wind God Fist, an excruciating pain suddenly surged through Jun's entire body and she cried out while being flung into the air. As soon as her body had left the ground however, she was reacquainted with it as Heihachi smashed her back down with a mighty roar. Somehow, she managed to roll out of the way as Heihachi again brought his foot down, but as soon as she did she collapsed onto her hands and knees and started coughing up blood.

"Is that really all, Jun? I was expecting a lot more, even from the likes of you! Hahahahaha!"

The Mishima was so caught up in his laughing fit that he didn't realize that someone else was laughing along with him. Someone who happened to still be on her hands and knees in front of him...

* * *

Asuka's eyes widened from the viewing room above the arena, "Oh god, it's happening again."

Xiaoyu furrowed her brow, "What are you talking about?"

The Osakan just shook her head, "Just watch..."

* * *

"You want more?"

Heihachi stopped laughing abruptly. Jun's voice had changed, and he noticed a purple slime start to envelope the floor of the arena. She got up slowly and grinned evilly at him, her now yellow eyes attempting to pierce his soul.

"Because I can give you more, Heihachi. I can give you a lot more!"

Heihachi's initial shock wore off at the sight of the slime-covered Jun in front of him. Instead, he just shook his head.

"So he got to you to, eh? No matter, I doubt you have what it takes to completely harness your new powers!"

He charged at Jun, intent with landing another Electric Wind God Fist, but was flung away by a purple skull-covered spike emerging out of the ground. The crowd went deathly quiet as Heihachi slowly got back to his feet.

"Something wrong, old man? I'm right here."

Heihachi smirked, "And you say I'm arrogant."

Once again he charged at her, but managed to jump out of the way of each spike before it hit him. Despite the fact that he was closing distance on Jun at an alarmingly fast rate however, she simply smiled at him and made no indication that she was going to do anything about it.

And just as he got close enough to her to attack, the Mishima froze – literally.

As much as Heihachi wanted to move, his body stayed put exactly where it was. Then, out of nowhere, a gigantic purple hand emerged in front of him and slammed down on the man's entire form.

* * *

Asuka clenched her fist, "This is just like what happened to Lili..."

Xiaoyu simply stared in disbelief at the scene in front of her, "I...I can't believe what I'm seeing."

* * *

As soon as the hand disappeared back under the earth, Heihachi's crumpled, unconscious form was revealed to the crowd. Devil Jun walked up to his body and picked him up by the throat, lifting him off the ground with ease.

"You know, usually I am able to stop myself from going too far, but I can easily make an exception for you."

As she continued to hold him up with one hand, another small dagger-like spike appeared in her other hand.

"Despite your best efforts, death appears to have caught up with you. Goodbye, you pathetic wretch!"

Without any hesitation, Devil Jun thrust the spike right towards the still unconscious Heihachi's neck, but just as it was mere inches away from its target, Jun was knocked away by an incredibly strong force. She rolled a couple feet away but regained her balance quickly, looking up to see who had interfered.

And there in front of her was the unmistakable sight of large black wings, protruding horns and strange markings.

"Hello, mother."

* * *

**Next up: Jun vs. Devil Jin (?) Remember to review!**


End file.
